The Ultra Crystals: Powers Unleashed
by Megazord Master
Summary: One World. Seven Coins. Three Hidden Powers. He thought life was going to get better. He was wrong.
1. Prologue: Walking the Path

AN: And here we go with story 2 in the continuing tale of The Ultra Crystals. It's probably a good thing if you've read the original story before diving into this one…but you get the cliff notes version in this chapter. Enjoy!

Powers Unleashed

Prologue: Walking the Path

"Oh, you gotta be shitting me…"

Weihan Liang stared at the piece of paper in his hands and realised that the past two years studying his ass off had come to naught. Next to him, his girlfriend Rachelle Cole laid a comforting hand on his shoulder as she looked at the four little numbers that signified the end result of his hard work. With a sigh of frustration, he made a move to crumple the paper up before stopping and placing it on the table where the numbers couldn't taunt him anymore. Giving his all in studying and the HSC had given him a UAI – University Admission Index – number far below what he hoped.

46.95

His friends had poured countless hours of studying time with him and had managed to raise his grades from the C – D average up to the high B's and low A's. The fact that he had dropped Math for Drama and dropped Ancient History altogether had ensured he would have enough free time for studies and his mother had enrolled him into the after-school study group…and this was the result that had been given to him by the Higher Ups. Ever the optimist, his mother had informed him that he could still study tertiary education in TAFE or at an independent school but he had no idea what to do.

"C'mon; it's not that bad. Apparently, Dragan only managed a score in the high twenties."

"Says the girl that got in the mid-seventies…yeah, you're right though. Ah, if only the Board of Studies knew what we went through two years ago. We'd be superstars for sure."

She giggled and leant in close to him, pecking him on the cheek.

"Yes, because everyone knows the Ultra Rangers were high school students."

He chuckled back and leant back on his bed and summoned a lightning-bolt shaped orange crystal to his hands in a flash of light. He and Rachelle, along with ten others, were the Ultra Rangers that had defended Sydney from the monsters and menace of the Space Warlord Xonix. Everything from giant ogres to interplanetary travel, even Interdimensional travel, had been thrown at them and had finally come to a head in the early months of 2010. Xonix had awoken from a self-inflicted Power Coma and had forged an incredibly shaky alliance with the opponent of the Wild Force Rangers: Master Org. With the help of some spells and things that had been set into motion months in advance, Xonix had come to Sydney and unleashed a literal flood of monsters, both old and new, onto the unsuspecting populace. The intention had been to catch the Rangers off guard and cause as much chaos, devastation and death in the hours before the Rangers got their act together.

However, that wasn't to be the case. In a move the Overlord could never have predicted, the Ultra Rangers were already gathered in one place – to see off Weihan's then-girlfriend Jacqui "AJ" Apple. The two lovers had been forced to split up then and there and, apart from the odd appearance on TV, it had seemed like she had dropped off the face of the Earth. The only people who saw her regularly were Rocky and Adam, the Green and Blue Zeo Rangers, and they would talk about how she was and the progress of her little sister, Bree. The Ultra Rangers had seen the beginning of the monster assault and had acted instantly; gathering up all Rangers around the world to fend off the threat. For the Rangers whose Powers had been either drained or destroyed, Weihan had used the combined Ultra Crystal to temporarily recharge their powers, even though there was a very slight chance doing so could permanently repower them.

The Ranger Army had counter-attacked and it was a miracle Sydney and the surrounding suburbs were still standing. North Sydney had been the focus of a recreated Cyclopsis; Balmain had been caught in the maelstrom of Dragontron; Mascot had been peppered by blasts from a cloned Red Psycho Ranger; Double Bay had seen the monster-Trakeena up close and the civilians caught in the CBD had been up to their necks in monsters. Everything had culminated in a knock-down and drag-out fight against Xonix and his top warrior Jabarkas in the Botanical Gardens. Xonix had, to the surprise of everyone, siphoned off some of the power of the Power Rangers and fused with Jabarkas to create Xonkas, a being that had done what no other villain had done – destroy the Ultra Crystals. After some determined words and a reaffirmation of their bonds as friends, the Ultra Crystals had reformed and become stronger than ever…yet it still wasn't enough to defeat Xonkas.

At the very last second, the departed mentor of the Power Rangers had come to Weihan and shown him the future in an attempt to give the young man hope. It had also been the catalyst for the abandoned planet of Chysannas to grant one last gift to the Orange Ranger before the planet broke apart – the Tri-Spino Dragon Battlizer. Using the mighty power inherent in the Armour, Weihan had defeated Xonkas and the Rangers had returned to their normal lives…except Xonix was still out there somewhere. The Orange Ranger was adamant about that particular fact and had spent most of his non-study time scouring the Universe for leads. One such lead had taken him to an innocent-looking magic shop in the outskirts of Briarwood, where he had made a rather unsettling discovery. Lord Zedd, brother of Xonix, had survived the Z-Wave and was eking out a rather humble life under the name Edward. If that had been a shock then finding out that Scorpina, Finster, Goldar and even Rita were still alive…well, he hadn't remembered much and had woken up under the watchful, yet strangely caring, eye of Scorpina.

Pushing away those thoughts, his mind returned to the conundrum at hand. With a UAI that low, the only courses at University he would be likely to attend were probably bee-keeping, bricklaying or tapestry weaving. Biting back a frustrated groan, he pulled Rachelle towards him when an image from his future flash swam to the forefront of his mind. He was walking into an office building in North Sydney that housed a Hotel Management School. The name flashed up in his mind and he stifled another groan. William Blue International Hotel Management School…that was the full name and he made a promise to do whatever it took for him to begin early next year.

Whatever was going to happen…that was where he needed to be.

TBC…

AN2: And yes, that was my UAI...


	2. 1: Mystery of the Coins

AN: If you really need a disclaimer on here, there's one on my profile. Slow-ish start to introduce things and then…things get ugly.

Chapter One: Mystery of the Coins

He nervously tugged on his collar as he stared at the building in front of him.

Against all odds, he had narrowly scraped through the two months of interviews and been accepted at the William Blue Hotel School. It was odd having to lie through his teeth about wanting to work at a hotel to the Principal, but he guessed he had more than enough experience at lying to teachers and family members about the odd inconsistencies in his work over the years. The induction and orientation procedure the day before had gone over quite well. The people in the group he had been placed into were friendly and there was one person who matched the descriptions of AJ's sister Bree…but she had been swept up into the crowd before he had the change to talk to her. However, the feeling of foreboding never left him no matter where he walked. It was almost as if…

"Hey, Ah know you! Weihan, right?"

Blinking at the strangely familiar voice, the Orange Ranger looked behind him to see the person he had been thinking about walking up behind him. As she came closer, he fought against the wistful thoughts that started to rise as he looked at her. She was about the same height as AJ but with red hair that, in some areas, bordered on pink. It was done up in the same style but with a small pink bow…which made him do a double take before he realised where he had seen that hairstyle before. Applejack's little sister, Applebloom, had the same style and that thought made him want to scream in frustration. Apart from a transfer of data from the Battle with Xonix, there had been pretty much nil contact with Equestria. The last time had been a quick communication that had formally introduced him to Shining Armour, Princess Cadence and Queen Chrysalis. Quickly moulding his features into a look of stunned surprise, he looked bemused as she ran up to him.

"Ah knew it was you! Mah sister always said to look out for the Asian with the hard and kind eyes…"

She dropped her voice to a low whisper.

"And the power of Fire."

Weihan swallowed hard and wondered what AJ had told her sister. Looking around for a place away from prying eyes, he grabbed her upper arm and pulled her to a secluded alley near the building where they couldn't be readily seen. Closing his eyes, he muttered ancient and arcane words under his breath and enclosed the both of them in a bubble of silence. Training with Ninjor and Dulcea had ensured that his magic would continue to grow stronger throughout the years until he reached adulthood. At that point, he would be trained under the guidance of Edward or Rita to refine his spells and magic. Slowly exhaling, he opened his eyes to see Bree roll her eyes and mutter something under her breath. Attempting to push past the overwhelming feeling of anger and betrayal coursing through his body, he gathered his thoughts and opened his mouth…only to be interrupted by her soft voice.

"Ah found out when Ah was concerned about her spendin' so much time in such a dangerous place. She accidentally let slip that she had a personal protector and Ah kinda pressured her to reveal the full truth. But I won't tell anyone! Sensei Adam and Sensei Rocky said that if anyone beside me found out, you would have to kill them!"

Coughing back laughter, Weihan released his anger at his former girlfriend. While it was true that she had blatantly betrayed the trust he had placed in her, it was good to know that both Adam and Rocky had put the younger girl in her place. Releasing the spell of silence, he began to chuckle as he saw much of Applebloom in the girl in front of her. Of course, starting a relationship with her was off the table as he was still with Rachelle…but it was nice to dream every once in a while. Shaking his head once more, he turned to leave when his Ultra Crystal rose out of his chest without him summoning it. Frantically checking around for onlookers, Bree stood in front of him to conceal the floating crystal from anyone on the street; raising his esteem of her by a few notches. Eyes narrowing, Weihan looked at the Ultra Crystal and saw that there were a few objects that were seemingly trapped behind the crystalline exterior.

The more he watched, the closer they seemed to come to the surface until, finally, the first of the objects emerged edge first and fell to the ground below. Snatching it out of the air, Weihan brought the object up to his eyes and gasped. It was a flat disc made of transparent crystal and shaped uncannily like one of the Power Coins. Etched on one surface was the image of a Tiger and faint sparks of white danced inside. Seeing more and more discs come out of his Ultra Crystal, he watched Bree pluck them out of the air with no apparent effects. A few moments later, his Ultra Crystal flashed seven times in different gem-like colours before slipping seamlessly into his chest. Handing over the few coins she had caught, Bree looked at them strangely.

"Ah've never seen anything like that…what do you think they are?"

He shook his head and stuffed the coins in the inner pocket of his blazer. He had a feeling that the images he had seen were quickly coming true…and that meant only one thing. The return of Xonix from his long absence. Fighting hard to control his breathing, his mind raced as he struggled to figure out what to do now. On one hand, the eventual return of Xonix was top priority and a plan needed to be placed together to find the Bearers of the strange coins that had come out of the Orange Crystal…as well as finding out where the other strange Morphers he had seen were. If he could teleport out of the alley…

"Hey, are you two coming or what?"

Looking up at the sudden voice, he spied the tall form of one of his class mates at the end of the alley. Rebecca Wheeler was her name, if he remembered correctly, and she was gesticulating pretty wildly. Chuckling under his breath at the Australian girl's enthusiasm, he reconsidered his decision. It wouldn't do much good for his reputation to be seen skipping out on the first full day of classes…even if Accounting was the first cab off the ranks. Lifting his hand in response, he began walking towards her when an image flashed through his mind's eye of a Mammoth made of a strange opaque material. Belatedly recognising it as Onyx – the stone, not the planet – he continued walking forward until her face was in view. As he had feared, looking at her brought about the image of a Black Ranger helmet over her face. From what he could see of it, it looked like a mix between Alex and Zack's helmet with a full face visor with two triangles of silver where the mouth-plate would be.

Things had just become a whole lot more complicated.

TBC…


	3. 2: Complicated Matters

Chapter Two: Complicated Matters

"So, what was it like seeing that undead monster up close?"

He rolled his eyes and chuckled under his breath. The girl in front of him waited expectantly for his answer and his mind raced in an effort to think up something to say. Elizabeth 'Liz' Martin had popped up at the beginning of the mid-class break and started asking him most of the questions she hadn't asked the previous day, including questions on the Orange Ranger and his presence in and around St Andrews Cathedral School. The questions had drawn the attention of a few more faces, including a Brazilian girl named Daphne de Souza, a Chinese-Australian named Emma Chou and a Greek girl called Jorja Cameron. He almost had lost in then and there when the first question had been asked as the last thing he needed to see was another image of a cross-helmet pop up in front of him. The first half of the class had been a blur and he vaguely remembered introducing himself to everyone, but his mind had been pre-occupied with the helmet he had seen on Rebecca or Bec as she had told him to call her. The Australian was chatting to Bree in the row behind him, but he could almost feel the eyes of AJ's sister boring holes into his back.

"Well, I didn't really catch see much. I just acted on impulse…but it smelt horrible!"

Laughter erupted from the girls around him as he schooled his face into a slightly disgusted look. However, on the inside, he was freaking out considerably. Two more female students had popped into the room after their break and had moved their books to be closer to him; the person that everyone knew had been in the school under the protection of the Orange Ranger. To be surrounded by so many girls wasn't the reason of his freak-out though; the main reason was that all of the girls around him had transparent helmets overlaid on their faces. Making a poor attempt at calming himself, he stretched out with his thoughts to see if there was any telepathic connection with any of them.

_**Can anyone hear me?**_

**Sugarcube? Why can Ah hear you in mah head?**

Inhaling sharply, he began coughing as things started to go down the wrong pipe. As Liz and the others started to pound him on the back, Weihan's mind exploded with pain. Barely stifling the cry that threatened to shake the room; images, thoughts and feelings began to pour in from everywhere. It was like activating the Battlizer for the first time and he struggled madly to keep from falling off his seat at the new information. Somehow, he had managed to telepathically connect with AJ and that had unleashed a torrent of unguarded thoughts on his mind. Pushing aside the mental chatter, he closed his eyes and began practicing the mental magic that Dulcea had taught him. Underneath his closed lids, his eyes glowed orange for a few seconds as the voices shut off. Opening his eyes, he looked up and, without warning, walked out of the room without a word.

"What was that all about?"

Liz looked around at the confused faces of Rebecca, Emma, Jorja and the others around her. She chewed on her lower lip as her mind replayed the events of the past few minutes. Everything had been going along fine and she was getting more information about the supposed zombie monster who called itself Contender…and things had gone downhill. She had noticed that he was avoiding looking at her face, almost as if there was something there he didn't want to see…but that was impossible. She knew the first day impressions were always important and she had striven to make herself look as good as possible. In contrast, the mysterious Asian boy looked like he had pretty much rolled out of bed or, at the very least, had gotten practically no sleep the night before. There had been an air of frantic apprehension around him as he had walked in the room and she had seen the way his eyes had scanned the area – almost as if he was on the run from something or someone.

She recalled the shiver that had run down her spine when those eyes briefly alighted on her. It had seemed like she had stuck her finger in a wall socket or something like that, but she had been instantly drawn to him. It was strange how he seemed to be familiar with Bree; but to her knowledge, they hadn't spoken to each other at all during the orientation. Quietly revealing this fact to Bec had gained another curious bit of information: they had been caught by her in the nearby alley and Weihan had been slightly out of breath. Quirking her lips up at the thought of them actually forming a relationship in a few minutes, she shook her head as the five-minute warning bell sounded.

"What the fuck was that?"

In the nearby bathroom, Weihan took off his glasses and splashed water onto his flushed face. To be in the same class as all the potential Rangers was one thing but contacting his former girlfriend using telepathy? Well, that was a whole other kettle of fish. Drying off his face, he walked into one of the nearby open cubicles and locked the door behind him. Pulling out the coins from his inner pocket, he bit back yet another groan as they started pulsing with Ranger-coloured light. Fighting the urge to bang his head on the wall, he pushed all thoughts aside and began dealing with the most pressing issue.

_**AJ?** **When were you going to tell me that Bree knew my identity?**_

There was nothing in response and, for a moment, he thought that the initial response had been his imagination. However, images began to slowly form in his mind's eye of the blonde woman travelling through dusty crypts with the aid of a taller and muscular man. His heart constricted painfully as he realised that the person was the family friend…and that he had no chance of getting her back. Shoving aside those thoughts, he drew on more power from the Ultra Grid to focus the telepathic pathways between them. Ninjor had cautioned that overdrawing could possibly lead to some unwanted side-effects, but he could think of none at the moment.

_Aw, don't be mad. Ah tried leaving you a few emails about a week or so ago but when you didn't reply…_

_**Heh, well, a week or so ago…let's see…I was on Phaedos being trained in telepathy. Trigger stone by your left foot.**_

From what he could see, AJ moved her left foot slightly to the right and bypassed the trigger stone completely. He had absolutely no idea what she was doing in a place like that, but had complete faith she would be able to handle herself. Summoning his combination Morpher to his left wrist, he tapped the GPS locator to see where in the world she was. The GPS locator honed in on the weak remnants of the White Power still in her system and gave him an answer within seconds – an unchartered cave in area where the Mayan civilisation once flourished. Pulling up all the available information about that location, he groaned as his mental viewpoint fixated on her ass. Banishing the thoughts from his mind, he narrowed his eyes and asked the question on his mind…but felt a growing uneasiness in his gut.

_**What are you doing in that cave? The Mayans developed many traps and pitfalls there and…oh Christ. Your friend…he's not?**_

He let the sentence trail off in horror. The Phantom Ranger had come to him roughly a year ago with a strange prophecy regarding the imminent discovery of the Crown of the Gods. Whatever that was, he hadn't the slightest idea…but if the Phantom Ranger was worked up about it then it didn't bode well. Once he managed to skim his way through the volumes of information surrounding the object, he could see why that would be an issue. When the Crown was removed from its pedestal, it would release two opposing brothers who would stop at nothing to gain the power for themselves.

_Yeah…it was his idea. This is my last adventure before I step down and look after his son. Look, I'm happy where I am and don't want to be pulled into your world again just yet. Besides, you promised that you would come for me only when you had exhausted all other options. Ah get the feeling Bree'll keep you busy for a while. But Ah like this contact. Give us a shout from time to time so Ah know you're still alive._

Dropping his head, he nodded once and terminated the connection. AJ didn't need him perched over her shoulder forever and he had his own problems to deal with. Jerking his head up as the five-minute bell sounded, he slipped the still-glowing coins in his pocket once more and sighed heavily. The first class of the first day wasn't even over and he had a shitload more on his mind than when he had woken up that morning.

What else would happen before the day was out?

TBC…


	4. 3: Dead Ends

Chapter Three: Dead Ends

It was as if he had dropped off the face of the Earth.

Jabarkas grumbled under his breath as his shuttle touched down on the newly constructed landing pad. The Universe had been scoured from top to bottom and there was still no sign of where his Master was hiding. Two years was long enough to have healed from the injuries inflicted on him by the new weapon of the Orange Ranger and have a new plan ready. There had been no new attacks on Earth and the citizens on its surface had forgotten what it was like to be constantly under the threat of attack. The Ranger instincts buried deep within him told him that now would be the perfect time to launch an attack on the Ultra Rangers. However, he wanted to have a solid plan before he acted too rashly. Rubbing the scar that stretched from his right shoulder to his left side, he grimaced at the phantom pain still buried within.

It had been a long and painful recovery for him. He only remembered falling back from Xonix as the blade of the Orange Ranger's weapon protruded from the back of his Master. He hadn't even had enough time to call out before he had been whisked away by a teleportation spell cast by Xonix. Twinlobe and Yit had found him, close to death than he had ever been, and placed him in an induced coma while they tried to stem the bleeding. Consciousness had come in fits and spurts after that and most of his field of vision had been restricted to the healing tank he had floated in for a few months. He had finally regained full use of his body and mind a few weeks later and asked about the Master's whereabouts. The answers he received didn't impress him and only served to fill his heart with uncertainty.

What would happen if the worst case scenario happened and Xonix had been destroyed? Jabarkas knew that his Master had littered the world below with dozens of monsters hidden behind time-delayed spells, so they would be all right for a while. The only problem would be the future supply of monsters, where they would come from and the lengths that had to be made to secure their services. Twinlobe had informed him that until the Master was found, making the monsters grow wouldn't be a problem. Searching the multitudes of rooms in the former residence of Lord Zedd had led them to discover an emergency supply of Growth Grenades hidden away in one of the many storerooms. Giving the order that no attacks be made on Earth until his return, he had set off into the inky unknowns of the Universe in an attempt to track down Xonix.

Of course, he had understood why the merging had been necessary. Even though Xonix had possessed more than enough raw power to destroy the Ultra Rangers, it hadn't been enough to fulfil his love of theatricality; hence, the reason behind the cloning serum and the fusion. Throughout his journeys, he had come across various accounts of survival stories ranging from a last-minute teleportation spell to Interdimensional jaunts through the very nature of space and time itself. Every source that was tracked down had one thing in common…all were dead ends. Either the originator of the tales had died due to radiation overexposure or a wrongly-cast spell or, in most cases; the tale had simply been made up on the spot to impress would-be lovers. There had even been one such tale that had started with the individual casting a dimensional anchoring spell that had whisked him away to the last dimension he had visited while, at the same time, erasing all memory of the time spent away from the place. That one was a bit too fanciful to be real but, for reasons even he had trouble figuring out, he had filed that story away in the dark recesses of his mind.

Stepping into the airless void of the Moon, he thought about the last piece of news he had heard on Onyx. Apparently, an acquaintance of the late Psychogre was finally making a move on Earth and the life he had left behind. Of course, he had tracked down this 'Lothor' but had been repeatedly assured that he would be staying well away from the fearsome power of the Ultra Rangers. After all, one would want to stay well away from the Rangers that had taken down the leader of the Ultra Psycho Rangers without breaking a sweat. Jabarkas didn't bother correcting the fool that the Orange Ranger had to die to achieve that.

"Master? When do you wish to send me down?"

Glancing at the snivelling voice behind him, Jabarkas allowed his lips to pull back in a small sneer before composing himself once more. While the search for Xonix had gone over as well as finding a needle in a haystack in a field full of haystacks, the search for monsters had gone over surprisingly well. The first creature he had stumbled upon had a good nose for sniffing out the best creatures from all over the galaxy. Already he had been offered the services of around seventeen monsters of varying strengths and usefulness. Unfortunately for him, Goark was a creature well past his prime whose only wish was to serve a new master. Jabarkas had seen first hand the brutality the creature was capable of and, while not a challenge, it would allow him to see if the Rangers had continued training for the past few years. If they had, then he would pay them a personal visit to demand answers. If not…well, they would die under the pathetically weak, but brutal, attacks of Goark.

"I wish to see the condition of the forces left behind. Then, and only then, I will send you down to Earth."

Shaking his head as the pressure in his ears equalised as he passed the threshold of the Main Gate, Jabarkas looked around him at the changes that had taken place. The outer walls had been fortified and thickened so they could take a direct attack from a combined Ultra Megazord and still be standing. The particle cannon that had been salvaged from the remains of the original Moon Fortress had been carefully upgraded into a double-barrelled, independently firing configuration. It had been placed onto a set of rails and could be moved from the Command Chamber. Turbo laser batteries dotted the walls and fusion-rocket launchers automatically scanned the skies above. As the humans had also developed some space capabilities, Jabarkas hadn't wanted them shot down and had given Twinlobe specific instructions about the sensitivity of the internal scanners. As he could still see the so-called 'International Space Station' still in one piece, he had to commend the Anishan for sticking to the orders.

Hearing a heavy door close behind him, Jabarkas lifted up his arms as jets of scalding steam burst out of the walls around him. The steam bath served as a way to decontaminate his body and clear out any dirt in his scar. Growling at the surprised yelps of the creature behind him, he calmed himself by repeatedly imagining the various ways the creature could be destroyed by the Ultra Rangers. As the decontamination shower finished, he strode out of the opening door with an air of powerful serenity…although that was what the humans liked to call and 'oxymoron'. Swiftly making his way to the Command Chamber, he opened the door and felt his jaw drop onto the ground.

Consoles lined the walls around the main balcony and specialised Golems sat behind the controls of the particle cannon. Yit nodded once as he saw Jabarkas walk in before turning to the report in his claws. Twinlobe was nowhere to be seen, though he suspected the Anishan was reinforcing the security systems on the Monster Labs and Holding Pens. They would need the added security for a few of the new creatures that had pledged their alliance to Xonix…wherever he was. Gathering his jaw up from the ground, Jabarkas strode out onto the balcony and looked at the blue and green planet in front of him. The island of Australia stared back at him, almost taunting him with the knowledge that the bearers of the Ultra Crystals were in plain sight…it was frustrating to think that they had enjoyed two years of peace while he had been scouring the Universe.

"Goark…you attack in ten minutes."

TBC…


	5. 4: Back in the Fray

Chapter Four: Back in the Fray

"Minor family crisis; nothing to worry about."

She sucked her lower lip as the words repeated through her mind. The Asian had explained his sudden leaving as a text message from his mother, explaining she had accidentally locked herself out of the house and needed him to go into the city so they could leave together. The explanation had seemed normal enough, yet there the frantic air around him hadn't seemed to go away. Of course, that was normal in a family-type emergency, but it seemed different somehow. The fact that Weihan had brushed off their questions and had conferred with Bree on something had only made Liz's suspicion of him grow. It had been for this reason that she had moved position in class to sit next to him, even drawing a few odd looks from the other students in the class. He had made a non-committal grunt and nodded once at the seating shift.

In the front of the room, the teacher droned on and on about the Accounting process behind a Hotel but all Liz could focus on was a strange low-pitched buzzing that seemed to emanate from the boy next to her. It was almost as if there was something in or on him that was drawing her in. It wasn't love and even though the rumours had been spread, she didn't think it was some sort of alien power passed on from a Ranger. The rumours had begun to spread a few seconds after Weihan had confirmed he had seen the Orange Ranger in action a few times. Strangely, that tidbit of news had made Emma become slightly more wary of him. She sighed under her breath as she thought about the tragedy that had befallen the Asian girl. It was a date no one would ever forget.

September 11, 2001.

That had been the day the Twin Towers in New York had been attacked by terrorists. Although the Lightspeed Rangers had arrived on the scene moments later and had fought valiantly to put out the fires that had spread, their Zords were still being rebuilt and – as such – they were powerless to stop the Towers from falling down. She knew Emma didn't hold any ill will towards the Lightspeed Rangers, only the Ultra Rangers who hadn't even bothered to release a statement informing the world of their whereabouts. The whereabouts of the Morphin Rangers sent a chill down her spine as the statement released by the Astro Rangers hours later had confirmed that two of them had been in the South Tower when the plane had struck. The Black and Yellow Rangers had appeared later and given some credibility to the rumour of mutants in the New York sewers but had stated that they were being protected by the Wild Force Rangers for 'preservation purposes' or something like that. As the bell for the end of class rang out, she kept a close eye on the boy and vowed to stick close to him.

"How about we all get something to eat together? There are still a few things I want to ask you."

Weihan bit back a frustrated sigh and nodded once. He had planned to duck into the alley, create a duplicate of himself and teleport to the Ultra Cavern to do research on the coins. He knew who would be getting five of the Coins but didn't know about the last two. Dimly aware of Liz saying something about getting two more of her friends into the group, he exchanged a wry look with Bree. The little sister of AJ rolled her eyes and poorly stifled a chuckle. Hoisting his backpack onto his right shoulder, he made a move to walk around the desk when the final Potentials walked in. One was a blonde with piercing blue-green eyes and pale skin. The image of a pink pterodactyl appeared for a split second before vanishing. The other was a taller Australian with sandy blonde hair, slightly tanned skin and light brown eyes. A helmet featuring the image of a dark red Tyrannosaurus appeared for a few seconds before blinking out of existence. Waiting until the room had cleared of all students except himself and Bree; he sighed heavily and placed both hands on the table in front of him. Raising his head to look at her, he slowly nodded once.

"Maybe it won't be so bad this time round. Ah mean, there's been peace for the past two years. Maybe you can get them in place before the first attack…"

Striding out of the room, he shook his head in the negative. Two years was more than enough time for Xonix or Jabarkas to have recovered from their wounds and be planning another assault on Earth. He had ordered the Ultra Rangers to stay out of the day-to-day tragedies of war and terrorism as much as he could but then the attacks in New York had happened…he shook those thoughts away as he knew that week, they had been off-planet. Ninjor had received word that the planet of Chysannas had finally broken apart due to the stresses placed on it from the Ultra Crystals. All twelve of them, with Ashley and Sam tagging along, had set off for the remains of the planet in Weihan's Meteor Masher Astro Zord – a spaceship that looked like it was perfectly suited to crashing through asteroid belts. After three rather harrowing journeys through a few said asteroid belts, he had been forced at Hammer-point to promise never do it again.

Catching up with the group in the lobby, he brushed off their comments about him being slow and choked on his laughter as Jorja wondered if he wasn't busy seducing Bree. He had already made a vow not to look at the young girl in the same light as he did Rachelle or even AJ; plus, she had pretty much stated that doing so would creep her out a bit. Waiting a few seconds for the automatic doors to open, he strode out into the warm summer sun…and froze in his tracks. He couldn't place his finger on it, but something seemed off with the air. There was a steadily building charge that set off his old instincts and he slowly dropped his bag on the ground. Ensuring all eyes were still on him and not his bag, he force-teleported it to the Ultra Cavern and subtly readied himself for anything. Aware of the looks he was receiving, he slowly pushed his way to the front of the group and stood in front of them protectively. After a moment of silence, he shook his head and prepared to laugh it off as strange prank due to all the Ranger questions that he had been receiving.

And then the café next door exploded.

People ran screaming away from the burning building and the Orange Ranger could see bodies of people unlucky enough not to have made it out of the café slowly being consumed by flames. Screams of terrorism were being shouted everywhere and the distant wail of approaching sirens could be heard. He felt Liz, Bec or one of the others clutch onto his arm and try to lead him away from the scene but he was rooted to the ground. He wouldn't run away from the danger to come and scanned the area for cameras and onlookers. It was a slightly morbid and macabre thought but he reasoned the smoke from the building would conceal him enough if he was forced to morph. A few moments later, a snivelling voice rang out over the crackle of licking flames and shouts of frightened people.

"Did you like my little gift? So pleased to make your acquaintances humans but I am afraid Goark will have to kill you now."

Within the blink of an eye, the fear of a terrorist attack had changed into the fear and mass panic of a monster attack. People raced to the repurposed Monster Shelters, some of them pushing others to the ground where they would be trampled underfoot by the masses of panicking civilians. Within minutes, the area around them was devoid of people and, it seemed, the police were keeping well away from a monster attack. Silence reigned and Weihan stepped forward, calling on the old instincts and readying himself for a battle.

"Show yourself!"

The smoke clouds parted and he could hear the girls shrinking back in fear as the monster was revealed. Rolling his eyes, Weihan looked at the creature in front of him and bit back an exasperated groan. The monster in front of him didn't look anything as menacing as what he had feared. It was a rather short and pudgy creature with mottled green and blue skin with human-like features. There was a set of glasses perched on its large nose and its belly protruded underneath a white cloth vest. The only thing that looked somewhat dangerous about the creature was the flaming brand gripped in one hand. Poorly fighting the urge to slap his face with a hand, Weihan brushed all thoughts aside and glanced back.

"You guys can keep a secret, right?"

At their nods, he allowed a wickedly dark grin to spread slowly on his face as he turned back to the monster that had called itself Goark. Allowing his body to relax completely, he raised his right hand to his chest and summoned his Ultra Crystal. The glow of the mystical object seemed somewhat brighter than it had been before, but he knew it was an after-effect of the Crystals reconstructing themselves. How else could he explain how the other Ultra Crystals had changed from their trapezoidal forms to palm-sized spheres? And yet, his was the only Crystal that had retained its original form for some reason. Lifting the summoned Crystal into the air, he could hear shocked and stunned gasps from the girls behind him and smiled as he heard a nervous giggle come from Bree. For the first time in two years, he called forth the Power granted to him to strike down Evil

"Ultra Crystal, Energise!"

TBC…

AN: Yes, I'm including 9/11 in here as I think it would be insane to think the Rangers could have somehow prevented it from happening. And Emma's story will be the focus of a few chapters.


	6. 5: Battle Radar

Chapter Five: Battle Radar

He had missed this.

A true one-on-one battle with the Monster of the day, no Golems or Fiends to distract him and where the blade in his hands was all the reality he needed. A rush filled his body as he parried each poor stroke from the rather weak monster in front of him. The flaming brand wouldn't really hurt him that much but he had to keep remembering that there were eight unprotected humans behind him, all depending on him to defeat the monster in front of him. Checking his internal chronometer, he rolled his eyes as the counter ticked over on eight seconds since the helmet had formed. In those eight seconds, he had burnt the cloth vest off, slashed his Sabre along the fat of the creature and used the burning brand to add more fuel to his fireballs. However, he was very aware of the girls behind him staring at him with shock and awe…especially Bree. Chuckling under his breath, he reasoned that listening to AJ spin stories of him was one thing but seeing him in action was another thing entirely.

He doubted he would be receiving much help from the others as most of them had been able to get into a University and would have trouble finding a secluded place to morph and teleport off. The only exceptions had been Alex and Will. The Black/Green Ranger was taking a year off to 'de-stress' after the HSC and maybe chase after Rachel as well, although Alex probably didn't know she was on Phaedos training under Dulcea. It had been her choice after two years of concentrating on her studies and, in a remarkable display of trust; her parents had allowed her to train on another planet. He would never admit to Alex, but seeing Rachel in that gauzy Warrior outfit had almost made him burn the planet to ashes. Of course, that was due to Ninjor belatedly realising that the fire powers of the Orange Ranger was linked to his emotions and hormones. Rachel would spend another year and a half on the planet before returning to Earth as a fully fledged Ninjetti Warrior, complete with Animal Spirit and proto-Zord.

Bringing his blade up to cleanly sever the left arm of the monster from its body, Weihan thought about the oddest exclusion of all. Will had scored a UAI in the high eighties but had brushed off all offers from the top universities both in Australia and internationally. His excuse had been wanting to take a break from studying and learn to love life for a year…or something like that. He had seemed unusually melancholy about something but hadn't revealed any details as to the cause. Placing his left hand on the end of the burning brand to destroy the rather flimsy weapon, he thought about the White Ultra Ranger and the apparent relief in the boy's voice when he had been told about AJ's transformation. Spinning around to cleave a long gash in the side of the monster, he felt a ball of unease growing in his gut as he thought about the demeanour of the White Ultra Ranger in the past two years.

He had seen a slight despair in his eyes grow to something that almost eclipsed his grief at his actions in the Evil Future…but it seemed different in Will. It was almost like the people he had seen in various documentaries who knew they had a terminal illness and were struggling to deal with it. On the other hand, Will knew that he had more than enough friends and support in the Ultra Rangers and the removal of the personal gain rule made it easy to gain access to top-class medical technology. It was probably something else, but he wished the Brit would loosen up and talk about what had ailed him. Shooting off a stream of fire that engulfed Goark in white-hot flames, he glanced behind him to see how the others were taking it…and if they had snapped out of their stupor yet.

Thankfully, Bree had come out of her trance and was attempting to move the others to a safer place – behind one of the many reinforced columns of the school building. The two new Potentials had moved there, but the others were rooted to the ground with expressions of stunned shock on their faces. Rather curiously, Emma's face wasn't one of shock but one of growing anger…almost as if she had a grudge against the Rangers in general. He sighed internally as he realised this was probably the case and most likely stemmed from the absence of the Ultra Rangers during the terror attacks. He wondered if she had lost anyone personally or if the anger in her heart was just misdirected; either way, it would make rather interesting viewing when he informed her that she had the potential to be a Ranger herself. He didn't really blame himself for not being there as when they had left, it had been a normal day with no forewarning of the disaster that would occur the very next day. If he really wanted to compare disasters, seeing the aftermath of the planet ripping itself apart was extremely tragic…but there had been a silver lining to the tragedy.

It would only activate itself on the next summoning of the Battlizer, but the Battlizer Dragon Zord would be a great addition to his arsenal. The others had joked about how it seemed he was getting all the cool upgrades but that had diminished when Rachelle accidentally let slip that he had said their Hellfire Armours had limited Elemental control. Amusingly, most of them jumped on her slip that he had informed her in bed…and he had been constantly ribbed ever since. The Elder had managed to survive for a short time by hiding in the closed mouth of the Main Head and had passed on his blessings of the use of Chysannas' Ultimate Weapon. In a private talk before dying, he had confirmed that the influx of thoughts upon Battlizer activation was a security lock as beings of a lesser mental constitution would not be able to handle the strain and have their minds scrambled. The graphic descriptions provided by the Elder had all but ensured that he wouldn't be eating any red-coloured jelly anytime soon.

Likewise, there would be no help from the other Power Rangers around Earth. Tommy was buried in work, dirt and various pieces of technology as he attempted to juggle everything on his plate. Kim was helping him somewhat, but the Pink Ranger preferred to stay on the sidelines and out of the public eye…which was a good thing as she had pretty much single-handedly claimed gold in every Gymnastic event she competed in – both in the Pan Global Games and the Olympics. In fact, it had been with her help that the Ultra Rangers had been able to get special seating during those events and had allowed Kat to live her dream of diving into an Olympic pool. Jason seemed to be avoiding him for some reason but had sent an invitation to his upcoming wedding to Emily. Of course, the wedding was due to be held in late July, but that was months away. Billy was still travelling through the stars with Delphine but his aging had popped up again, requiring a lengthy stay on Aquitar. Zack and Trini were lapping up the attention gained from their experiences at Ground Zero as well as their travels in the sewers.

As for the rest of the teams, they were off doing their own thing. Andros and the Astro Rangers were checking up on reports of a warlord named Grumm around the Gresspro System and had drafted the Galaxy Rangers to assist. Lightspeed was helping with the cleanup of Ground Zero with their rebuilt Rescue Zords and Bio-Lab was financing the operation. The Wild Force Rangers had gone their separate ways and couldn't really be contactable. That meant he was pretty much the only active Ranger on the planet…which suited him fine.

"You die now!"

Wincing at the high pitch coming from the mutilated creature in front of him, Weihan shook his head and dismissed his Sabre. There was something that he had always wanted to try out ever since seeing Eliza do it in Equestria. Of course, he hadn't actually seen it as he had been under a pile of rubble at the time…actually, no. He had wanted to do something like this ever since he had shattered the first Golem in Town Hall Square all those years ago. Flipping away from the monster, he closed his eyes under his helmet and allowed the fire energies within his body to come to the surface. As Ninjor had instructed him, he waited a brief moment to collect as much power as he could before channelling it into his right foot. An image flashed up in his mind's eye of him attacking a Minotaur Wraith with a similar kick but he dismissed it with a smile. As Xonix hadn't been destroyed, there was no chance of the Wraiths being freed into the world…even if this so-called 'Bloodless Mary' still existed.

Pausing a brief moment, he allowed the tiniest of frowns to cross his face. No, the Wraiths could still come out of the mirrors but only at very specific times. He made a mental note to track down and destroy the source of the Wraiths' power as soon as feasible as the last thing he wanted was for a creature to come out of a mirror while he was in the shower. Pushing aside the mental note, his mind returned to the battle at hand as his eyes slowly opened. Hearing the shocked gasps behind him, he looked down to see that his right boot was covered in blue flames. The claw on the foot had extended and come out of the metal sheath. The Morphin Smash had been a variation of an energy kick but it didn't really have the same flair as a leaping kick. Lowering himself into a crouch, he hoped the monster wouldn't be smart enough to move out of the way. Now, the only thing left to do was to think of a good name for the attack.

"Fire Strike!"

As he soared through the air, he rolled his eyes at the cheesiness of the name. Well, there was no changing it now as the Power had accepted that name and wouldn't allow for any variance of it, unless the attack was changed completely. As expected, the monster stood as still as a tree and he rolled his eyes as he felt the slight resistance of his foot meeting the chest of the creature. Landing on the ground, he heard the explosion behind him and slowly stood up to suppress the fiery energy swirling around him. Turning around, he was met with slow applause and a strange whistling sound coming from above him. He frowned under his helmet as he tried to place the familiar sound and looked up to the skies…just in time to see a silver sphere impact against the remains of the monster. Swearing under his breath as the Growth Grenade regenerated the monster and made it grow, he shouted to the group over the noise of the monster.

"Bree, get them to the park! It's safer there! Hurry!"

Not bothering to see if the young girl would comply with his orders, he muttered more curses under his breath and looked around him. The streets were deserted but there were still people huddled inside shops. Thankfully, the glare of the sun meant his identity remained a secret…but he would need a strong Zord to finish the monster. Making a snap decision, he raised his left hand into the sky and called out its name.

"Utahraptor Dinozord, Now!"

TBC…


	7. 6: Defrosting Grudge

Chapter Six: Defrosting Grudge

Emma Chou couldn't believer her eyes.

The boy in front of her who had informed everyone that he had seen the Orange Ultra Ranger in action…was actually the Orange Ultra Ranger. It was something that had come totally out of left field and was a stark contrast to the somewhat withdrawn persona he had built around himself. As the redhead girl tried to push her to the park near the school, she felt her blood start to boil in anger. The events that had happened on that fateful day were forcefully brought up to the forefront of her mind as she saw the two giants locked in combat literally right in front of her. She could tell Bree was screaming at her to move but her limbs wouldn't respond. Suddenly, she found herself lifted off the ground by a beam of light that had come from the machine of the Ranger. A second of dizziness later and she blinked upon finding herself in the middle of the park next to Stanton Library. A few other flashes of light later and the other seven girls appeared.

"What the heck was that?"

"Teleportation beam. Good for getting us out of the way so he can let loose."

Emma nodded at that explanation but her anger and frustration remained. The Orange Ranger had been practically in front of her the entire morning…and if she were to expose his identity then he would be hounded by the media everywhere he went. A small smile crept over her face at the thought of seeing his face plastered all over the newspapers and being forced to account for all of his actions. So caught up in her fantasy of exposing his identity was she that she never saw the concerned looks of Liz, Bec and Bree. He would be forced in front of the Prime Minister and be given the ultimatum he had wriggled himself free from – to serve the Australian Government or be shot on sight. In that scenario, there would be nowhere he could hide; especially as the location of their base had been narrowed down to a few hundred kilometres. A good carpet bombing would take care of the menace once and for all and would force them off the planet where their enemies would follow.

But what if they didn't follow?

She frowned at the wayward thought and sat down on the edge of a decorative fountain. She knew herself better than anyone around her and knew that there had been a time when she had looked up to the Ultra Rangers; where she thought of them as the saviours of humanity along with the other Rangers. Once, she would have even said that she would jump at the chance to become one of them. If the enemies of the Ultra Rangers didn't follow them into space, the people of Earth would be well and truly screwed. The Power Rangers could only fight for so long and, if she did expose the identities of the Ultra Rangers, may not even want to be involved either. There was no doubt in her mind that Rangers always stuck together and covered for each other. The battle two years ago had cemented that fact in everyone's minds as they saw the images of public-identity Rangers fighting against the secretive Morphin and Zeo Rangers.

She knew all of this and yet, she couldn't forgive the strongest Rangers on Earth for not being there when the people of Earth needed them the most. When the planes had struck, her life had been changed forever and it had only been for the split-second decision of her mother that she was still able to be alive. Well, some of the thanks could also be directed to the Green Lightspeed Ranger and the repurposed Monster Shelter he had hooked on to his Zord. In her darkest nightmares, she was still on the roof of the North Tower but the Green Ranger wasn't there. The floor would buckle under her feet and she could see the flying Zord just starting to come up…but she would be falling down all the way…until she woke up in a cold sweat. She knew it was only doe to the heroic actions of the Power Rangers that she was able to live but she had lost her parents and her brother. No matter how hard she tried to rationalise whatever reason her mind came up with, the fact of the matter was that the Ultra Rangers hadn't been there to protect the citizens of the world.

"Whatever you're thinking, stop. Just look at him before you judge."

Emma looked up at the voice to see Liz looking at her intently. Shaking her head, she continued to look away from the battle as the sounds were all the confirmation she needed that everything was going well. Hearing the other girl sigh in frustration, her field of vision suddenly and jerkily changed from the ground at her feet to the Zord battle. Emma's eyes widened as she saw the amount of damage that the Dinozord had sustained in a relatively short amount of time; almost like a mirror of the actions of the Orange Ranger moments earlier. As she registered the delicate way the massive Zord stepped around the battlefield, she slowly realised that Weihan was trying to avoid causing unnecessary damage, at the cost of the monster slowly destroying the Zord.

"See that? I know you have issues with the Ultra Rangers not being there for your family but instead of coming up with outlandish solutions to the questions in your mind, won't it be better to ask the Leader directly? I'm guessing it would be so easy for him to let loose on the monster and not care about the surrounding areas. So why isn't he?"

Liz shook her head and released her grip on Emma's head. As expected, the Asian girl dropped her head to the ground once more and she sighed. She knew not all of them were accepting the shocking fact that one of their class mates was the Orange Ranger but, well, it was to be expected. Possibly the only ones who were taking it rather well besides her were Bec, Jorja and Bree. Daphne was staring at the behemoth battle in front of her with the blonde, Phoebe Tyker, and the brown haired girl, Tara Lin. Looking up at a strange crackle of energy, her mouth dropped open as she saw the mighty Utahraptor Dinozord transform into its Warrior mode and settle into an offensive stance. Carefully, she pulled Emma off her perch and crouched low to the ground. Something was about to happen and it was going to happen soon.

"Fire Cataclysm!"

Blinking at the voice echoing over the sounds of battle, she watched the Utahraptor warrior transform its tail arm into a segmented whip and pull its arm back. With all the speed of a striking cobra, it lashed out to wrap around the mid-section of the monster. With equal amounts of speed and force, the Zord catapulted the screaming monster into the air and ignited its whip. One fluid motion later and the monster's scream abruptly cut off as it was consumed by a roaring fireball. The Zord stood triumphant for a few moments before vanishing in a streak of fire.

"Well, that plan went to shit rather quickly."

Turning at the voice, Emma's eyes bugged out as she saw Weihan emerge from an underground tunnel and she seethed with rage as Liz, Bree and Bec went to check if he was all right. Waving them away, the Asian boy motioned all of them close and looked around for onlookers or wayward cameras. It surprised her a bit that she was thinking about things like that but brushed it off as a product of seeing the battle up close. Satisfied that there were no onlookers, he walked towards the fountain and looked up at the slowly dissipating smoke from the monster. After a moment, he spoke.

"What if I told you that I could grant you the power to save your friends, family and planet? Would you take the chance to become something greater than you are now?"

He paused to let the words sink in before reaching into the inner pocket of his jacket. Pulling out his hand, Emma saw seven coins made of a strange clear crystal she had never seen before. One of the coins that held a faint emerald sparkle seemed to call to her with the promise of great power. She saw flashes of images in her minds eye of a Green Ranger standing on top of a building watching a battle raging around her. A split second after the image flashed up, she saw an image of six horses in Ranger gear charging toward an enemy. Curiously, she saw the same Green Ranger next to them, as well as other similarly attired Rangers. A split second later and she had returned to North Sydney. She could tell that most of the others had the same experience…except for Bree, who was staring at Weihan with a mix of shock and incredulity on her face. He nodded once and mouthed something at her before turning back to them and delivering his bombshell.

"I can make you Crystal Rangers."

TBC…


	8. 7: Fragile Hostility

AN: If you need a disclaimer at his point, you haven't been paying attention to the one on my profile, eh?

Chapter Seven: Fragile Hostility

"And what if we say no?"

Weihan looked at the Asian girl in front of him and rolled his eyes. He knew this confrontation had been coming since yesterday's orientation and knew what to say…well, only the first part of it anyway. Thanks to Zordon coming to his during the battle with Xonkas two years ago, he had a new understanding of what needed to be done in order for history to flow on the 'correct' path. Of course, it could be argued that any one of the paths shown to him was the 'correct' path and their inclusion was to show him that multiple timelines and dimensions were possible. Of course, as he had travelled to and from Equestria multiple times, he was well aware that alternate dimensions existed.

"The time for that possibility has come and gone. The Crystal Coins have chosen you as their Bearers the same way as my Ultra Crystal chose me. The thing you have to realise is that the Power has a limited degree of sentience and chooses those best suited for the task. This even extends to Rita Repulsa's choosing of her Evil Green Ranger."

Seeing as his words had stopped any further argument for now, he mulled over the new information that had been made available to him. Whether it had been part of Zordon's initial infodump or if he was accessing it from the Universal Morphin Grid was unknown to him, but he did know that the name Crystal Rangers and Crystal Coins hadn't been in his mind when he had woken up that morning. Slipping the Coins back in his jacket, he transferred them into a secure subspace pocket and waited for them to come out of their shocked stupor. Of course, he couldn't really blame them as he was sure he looked like that when his internal guide had explained the finer details to him all those years ago. At least the Morphin Madness wouldn't be an issue for them…or Bree for that matter. Furrowing his brow, he thought about the strange images that had flashed to the forefront of his mind regarding the girl in front of him. In his image, he could see her holding up some sort of wrist-mounted device with a purple and green faceplate. A strange song-and-dance movement later and she was covered in a rather vague Ranger uniform. He had mouthed to her to see him later but had a strange feeling she would be going with him to the Ultra Cavern before the day was out.

"I won't ask for you to make a decision right now nor will I give you the Coins. Once you have decided that you accept the will of the Power, come and see me."

Swallowing hard, he rubbed the back of his neck and looked up at the sky. As a monster had been sent down, there was no doubt that Xonix was back in the game. The only aspect of the previous battle that made doubt rear its head was the presence of the Growth Grenade. He hadn't seen a Growth Grenade be used in their dimension since just before the Spectre Theatre debacle and after that, the only user of them had been the Zedd attacking Equestria. It could just be that the attack with the Raptor Blazer had cut off Xonix's magic but he sorely doubted that was the case. Whatever it was, he would cross that bridge when it came up. There was no doubt in his mind at the thought that doing so would more than likely raise a lot more questions.

"I can't accept this. If we distance ourselves from you then we'll be safe, right? Your enemy doesn't know who we are, right?"

At the, admittedly smart, question, he rolled his eyes and shook his head. Options of escaping the destiny in front of them were now impossible and, in some small part of his mind, he knew that even if he had decided to not come to William Blue that they would be chosen nonetheless. The Power had a tendency to pull in potential Bearers towards active Rangers so, in a literal sense, there was no escape.

"Whoever sent down the monster has probably seen that you didn't run away and has deduced you to be Potential Rangers. Xonix will either recruit you to serve him or you will eventually accept. Believe me, I hate to sound so bold and brash but as of now, they are the only options available to you."

He held his breath; waiting for the outburst he knew was coming.

"We don't want any part of this! You're a Ranger and they're after you! If you drop out, we can go back to our normal lives!"

He shook his head and stared into the eyes of the Potential Green Ranger. Like it or not, they had to realise that their dreams of a 'normal' life were now and forevermore shattered. Placing both hands on her shoulders, he held her in place as she struggled to free herself. His voice was low and held an edge as hard as steel.

"You don't get it, do you? As of right now there is no more normal life for you. You'll be attacked no matter your decision. At least with the Power, you'll get a chance to fight back before your death."

As if to punctuate his point, an explosion ran out from somewhere nearby. Releasing Emma from his grip, he turned around just in time to see a fresh cloud of black smoke rise above the tree line. As the smoke was very close to the bruise-like smear of smoke from Goark's first attack, he deduced that the new explosion was…right in front of the college. Biting back a curse, he looked up at the eight girls and scanned their faces for any sign of the information sinking in. With the exception of Bree's face, everyone else's was a mixture of shock, amazement and slight signs of information overload. Stepping past the seven Potentials, he leant close to Bree and spoke softly.

"I need to see what's going on. Take care of them and later, we'll see what to do about what you saw. If it's what I think it is; your sister is going to kill me."

Allowing a small smile to pass over his lips, he turned to leave when a voice snapped him out of his pre-battle preparation.

"Wait, we're coming with you. We want to see first-hand what a real battle looks and feels like."

Glancing over his shoulder, he could see Liz, Rebecca and Jorja preparing to come with him. In their eyes, he could see that the decision to take up the Powers granted to them had been all but decided. They were coming along to experience what a true Ranger Battle would be like and he hoped they weren't called up out of bed to battle a swarm of grunts in the dead of night. He doubted that would happen as Xonix had wanted to announce his presence to the world and also test the strength of his resolve. Pulling out his Crystal, he nodded once and initiated his morph.

Why did he get the feeling things were getting complicated?

TBC…


	9. 8: Raising Questions

Chapter Eight: Raising Questions

"Oh Christ…we're screwed."

Cleaving a Fiend in half with his Sabre, Weihan couldn't help but agree with Liz. The area in front of the building was packed with Golems and Fiends…with Jabarkas in the middle of it. The Huran hadn't changed much in the two-year gap with the only new addition being a long and twisted scar stretching from his right shoulder to the middle of his left side. There were other nicks, dings and wounds but they only served to heighten his fearsome appearance. His shoulders were bare, yet his upper arms were protected by a thin covering of what looked like chain mail. The blade he had fought with in the previous battles was gone, replaced with what looked like a double-bladed medieval battleaxe. Weihan seriously doubted the handle would be easy to break…even if it was, the Huran would surely have another trick up his proverbial sleeve. He attempted to steady his breathing as he remembered the events of that fateful night more than two years ago and chuckled humourlessly at his ironic thoughts at the beginning of class.

"Only one Ranger? Why am I unsurprised to see that it's you?"

The double-bladed weapon sliced through the air and the Orange Ranger rolled to the left, narrowly avoiding the energy crescents that smashed the ground around him. Swearing under his breath, he looked behind him at the trio and swallowed hard. The decision to allow them to come with him had been a rather rash one, but he had thought the cloud of smoke had been caused by only a handful of grunts. Flipping back to avoid yet another set of energy crescents, he narrowed his eyes as the realisation came to him. Without help from the other Rangers, there was no way he could fight the grunts and protect the girls as well. Unfortunately, his moment of distraction cost him as streams of fire from the nearby Golems splashed against the front of his Battle Armour, knocking him on his back. Rolling to his feet, he readied his Sabre for another charge when a pair of energy crescents slammed into his scorched battle Armour, flinging him into a nearby hedge. Struggling to get back onto his feet, Weihan's vision blurred at the Fiends crawling towards him and his mind raced, trying to come up with a way to get himself and the others away from the scene.

"Hey uglies! Eat this!"

The Fiends in front of him looked up and were instantly frozen by a wave of green light that came from behind him. Even as he turned to look, the ground below rumbled and he rolled away as a wave of shimmering silver energy swept past his head. The energy wave slammed into the frozen Fiends and turned them into powder, before destroying the other Golems behind them. A split second later, he was helped to his feet by a familiar figure in Silver armour. Shaking his head, he quickly hugged Rachelle before surveying the battlefield once more. Alex was carving up those around him with his Blizzard Axe but while his technique had somewhat improved…his aim hadn't. Icy blasts were flying out of the trunk of the Mammoth Buster, indiscriminately freezing Golems, Fiends, parked cars and light poles alike.

"Well…it could be worse I guess."

Giving a half-hearted shrug at Rachelle's words, he began to reach for the Raptor Laser before reconsidering. Three Rangers would be all the assistance needed…but it would be a good show of unity if the other Rangers would pop up as well. Wordlessly pulling out his Raptor Cannon, he assembled the Raptor Launcher but didn't start charging up the finisher. If the Mugen Blast was fired it would take out all the grunts and possibly even Jabarkas, but be liked the area around the school and didn't want to nuke it anytime soon. Scrolling through the list of options that appeared on the HUD, he picked out the one that appealed the most to his non-destructive side. Exhaling slowly, he braced himself and squeezed the trigger. Three thick energy bolts blasted out of the barrel and seemed to scatter into the air. Less than half a second later several Golems exploded with cut-off wails, showering the nearby Fiends with their high-pressure 'lava' blood, though the Orange Ranger knew it wasn't really lava at all.

The two year gap had allowed Weihan to perform a few experiments with one of the Golems that hadn't been destroyed in the final battle. The pathetic creature had been sighted close to the Zord Hangar door without arms and most of its head missing. How it had managed to make its way to the Ultra Cavern without alerting the National Guard was beyond him…yet he couldn't pass up the opportunity. Edward had wanted to see the internal structure of one of the foot soldiers his brother had created and had pretty much begged him to allow him access. After much internal debating, a training session with the purified Goldar and a rather…unique…cooking competition against Scorpina, he had relented. Looking back, it was a good thing he had as the former Lord had suggested examining it in the very bowels of the Ultra Cavern where there wasn't likely to be any damage done. The Golem had pretty much 'died' then and there but the first cut was…interesting to say the least. It had also been when he had discovered that he could, to a certain extent, manipulate fire and flames that hadn't come from within his body.

The fabled 'lava' blood of the Golems was real, but it wasn't actual lava that flowed under its rocky skin. Much like the late Dark Spectre, the 'blood' was literally liquid fire. It was under extremely high pressure and somehow controlled the movements of the Golem in unique and intricate ways but it wasn't anything that could burn a hole in the ground. Two minutes into the investigation and the liquid fire had dissipated into the air, causing the two of them to hastily evacuate the area via teleportation.

"What? More Rangers?"

Snapping his mind back to the present moment, he blinked in surprise as he could see the other nine Ultra Rangers teleporting in, in full Assault Armours, and begin cleaving into the grunts around them. Dismantling the Raptor Launcher, Weihan took the opportunity to leap over the battling Rangers to attack Jabarkas directly. Bringing his blade down, he heard the clang of metal against metal as the Sabre bit deeply into the handle of the battleaxe. Wrenching his blade out of the handle, the two warriors circled each other warily, waiting for the other to make the first move.

"Where is the Master, Ranger? Where did you send him?"

Weihan blinked in surprise, lifting his Sabre up to deflect a downward strike. Defending against an axe with a sword wasn't his idea of a good time, but he didn't have much room to move to summon the X-Lancer either. A part of him knew that thought was a cop-out but he didn't care that much. Channelling flames into his Sabre, he lifted the flaming weapon into the air for a few moments before bringing it down on Jabarkas' left shoulder. The Huran clenched his teeth in pain, but didn't fall to the ground.

"What are you talking about? I don't know where Xonix is…why the fuck would he be with me?"

"There is no other place for him to be! I have scoured the Universe for the past two years, searching for signs of his recovery. Yet you were the last being to see him before he vanished. If you do not answer, I will beat the answer out of you, boy!"

Lowering his Sabre, Weihan swallowed at the threat. He knew from experience that it wouldn't be an empty threat but he had to try to dissuade Jabarkas from acting upon it. The first time, he had been saved by launching an unexpected, and rather sneaky, attack. The second time…well, Jabarkas had hung back while Xonix and Psychogre mauled him and the last time had been merged with Xonix, so it technically didn't count.

"I don't know where he is but I'm wishing I had destroyed him. Why don't you ask your other contacts?"

Jabarkas growled under his breath but didn't lower his blade. Taking the opportunity in front of him, Weihan put his poorly thought-out plan into action. Leaping over the head of the Huran, he slashed his Sabre deep into his unprotected back and channelled more and more flames along the blade. Wrinkling his nose at the smell of cooking muscle, he tore his weapon out of the Huran and stabbed down viciously…only to hit nothing but empty air. Looking around wildly, the Orange Ranger spied the wounded form of Jabarkas a few blocks away, lifting his axe in a way that indicated their battle wasn't over.

It wouldn't be over for a long time.

TBC…


	10. 9: Triple Ranger

Chapter Nine: Triple Ranger

"We're joining up."

Weihan blinked in surprise and looked at them for confirmation. As they nodded their heads, he sighed in resignation. At the conclusion of the battle the day before, the three girls had come out of their hiding places and instantly come up to him; babbling in excitement. He had been about to start his explanation when Bree had shown up with the other four girls…raising questioning looks from the other Rangers and soft snickers from those who had met Applebloom. He had stopped further introduction as the Monster Shelters were starting to release the civilians, but had promised to give them a full explanation when they decided to take up the Power. He had thanked the others for their help, created a duplicate of himself in full view of the others and promptly teleported to the Ultra Cavern.

Rolling his shoulders absently, he grimaced at the soreness produced. Rachelle had come later in the evening to say that everything in and around the area of battle had been chalked up as Battle Damage – including the capital letters – and the businesses would be adequately compensated. He had profusely 'thanked' her for her rescue until she had to leave…but he was left with a dilemma. He had no idea where these Crystal Coins had come from and had been tearing his hair out as he tried to make sense of Zordon's logs…when Ninjor had called with some unexpected information. The Ancient Zord Master had sensed the awakening of a familiar power and had put a temporary hold on Rachel's training to try to be of some assistance. The revelations floored the Orange Ranger in their detail and intensity.

When the thirteen Ultra Crystals were sent out into space, they were jettisoned with the scraps of Zycordian diamond that the shells were constructed from. Over time, close proximity to the overwhelming power of the Ultra Grid had imparted these scraps with some degree of power. Apparently, it was a last-ditch effort by the Morphin Council to implement a team of Coin-based Rangers into the mix. It had been prophesised that the Ultra Rangers would fall in their final battle and the Council had taken drastic measures to prevent Evil from fully taking control. If the main twelve Ultra Crystals ever shattered, the Coins would become energised with Power and seek out their Chosen Bearers.

This process would have been automatic, had it not been for Zordon's intervention. Although the Coins had begun to be energised with Grid Energy, the recreation and reformation of the Ultra Crystals coupled with the gift of the Battlizer had slowed the process dramatically. It was clear that no one on the Eltarean High Council ever expected the Crystal Coins to be released, for them to have done so indicated a shift in the Evils that would threaten the Universe. Grumm was slowly coming closer to heavily populated worlds and his lust for destruction was growing with each passing second.

"You've thought about this thoroughly? This isn't a game you know."

Nodding once, Liz set her shoulders straight. Countless hours of thought and actually seeing what a battle was like has all but cemented her determination to make the world a better place. If accepting the Power meant that she could also create a copy of herself at will, it would be well worth the strains and stress of near-constant fighting. If it didn't…well, there were always other forms of stress relief. She was sure Bec and Jorja felt the same way and the others would come around eventually. Shaking the thoughts out of her mind, she nodded again and opened her mouth.

"We saw how hard all of you fought yesterday. We know this isn't a game or something to be taken lightly. This is our decision to make the world a better place."

Weihan sighed again and nodded. Looking around for onlookers, he led the trio to the nearby alley and closed his eyes. As he had spent the entire night in the Ultra Cavern, his magical double would ensure he didn't miss out on anything too important. The only issue here would be the three girls in front of him. As any information they learned would be transferred to him, they would be at a slight disadvantage…but it couldn't be helped if they wanted a head-start on their training. Drawing on the energies of the Grid, he concentrated hard on their images and crossed everything he could. The last thing he needed was to create a three-headed monstrosity. That would raise a few eyebrows and questions.

"Amazing…"

Opening his eyes, he found himself looking at six girls and snorted back laughter. As he had created the copies, he knew exactly what distinguished them from the 'real' girls and mentally gave them their instructions. As the first lesson of the day had to do with alcohol, what it was made from and the proper servings of it; he knew he didn't really have an issue with the slight sleepiness in the eyes of the doubles. Hoping that AJ had briefed Bree on his use of magical duplicates and their resemblance to the original persons, he checked around for onlookers before summoning his combination Morpher. Working the teleport controls, he couldn't suppress his mind falling straight into the gutter as he thought about 'seeing' that bathroom breaks of the duplicates. Pushing those rather deviant thoughts out of his mind, he activated the mass teleporter.

"Hang on."

In four flashes of light, the reappeared in the Main Control Area of the Ultra Cavern. Summoning his Ultra Crystal, the Orange Ranger walked over to the controls of the Dimensional Doorway and activated the Communication Station. With Xonix gone from pretty much any of his usual spots, there was a slight chance that he could have fallen through the dimensional barriers. The last thing he needed was to find Xonix rampaging in a dimension where the very concept of Power Rangers, Ultra Crystals and monster battle was relegated to the world of fiction. For one thing, it would cause a lot of confusion between him and his dimensional counterpart…but he was probably being paranoid. Checking the time it would take for the machine to fully warm up, he extracted the three Crystal Coins from the lightning bolt shaped structure and approached the trio of astounded girls.

"Millennia ago, a great battle was waged between Good and Evil. Each side fought hard and sustained many losses in the process. Eventually, it was decreed that a set of Crystals be created to combat the threat facing the Universe. The process to create the Crystals was long and hard; many great minds were lost during those days. Two, in particular, would never see the sky with free eyes again.

Eventually, the Crystals were completed, though it was too late for them to be of any use in the coming battle. The Morphin Council, a group of beings who wielded the energies of the Morphin Grid, though it was wise to create a separate set of Powers in secret, in case the Bearers of the Ultra Crystals were ever killed. Using the discarded scraps of the purest diamond in the Universe, they created seven coins and hid them deep within the most powerful Crystal of the set."

He paused, taking in the expressions of the girls in front of him. Out of all of them, Liz looked the most determined. The image of a realistic Tiger head looked back at him and he chuckled under his breath as he realised Tommy would now be the only Ranger that had an abstract animal head for a helmet. He was sure there would be more Rangers down the track with equally strange helmets but none of them would rival the White Ranger's helmet for sheer strangeness. Looking back on it, it looked like it had come from an entirely different Power Set. Shoving the thoughts out of his mind, he turned to the other two girls.

Rebecca had the same air of determination as Liz's, but there was a slight hint of apprehension in her eyes. Jorja was shaking with nervous excitement, but her eyes held the same note of determination and apprehension in them. Deciding that Liz would be the leader of the Crystal Rangers then and there, he released the three coins and allowed them to float towards their Bearer. The closer they came, the clearer the detail on the coins until they no longer resembled their clear and transparent forms. Names flashed through his mind and he could feel a slight trembling of the ground under his feet as their Zords were transported from Ninjor's workshop. He wondered what they looked like but mentally slapped himself as the images had come to him to day before. Plus, there was only so much you could do with Dinozords before they were transformed away from their general shapes.

"As you have chosen to accept the Power granted to you, reach out and grab hold of your destiny!"

As the trio reached out in unison, Weihan internally groaned at his choice of words. Honestly, there were better phrases that could be used besides the cliché of reaching out and grabbing, but it had been the only thing to spring to his mind. The only real time he had done a semi-long winded song-and-dance speech had been with Steven Johnston and, although that had worked out in the end, he had no intention of a repeat performance. Looking away as a glow of Power surrounded them, he silently counted to ten before clenching his eyes shut to protect them from the wave of white, blue and dark purple light. Slowly opening his eyes as the light died down, he turned to see what their uniforms would look like before nodding in surprised approval.

The armour was moulded in the same form as the Mighty Morphin Rangers, except with only one diamond in the centre of their chests. The diamond was shaded in their respective colours and held the same crystalline nature as their coins. Their belts were free of any Morphers and he wondered where they were. The only similarities he could see between his Battle Armour and their suits were the white gloves that were splattered with red and he sighed heavily. The reminders of his massacre in the Bad Future would always be with him, it seemed. As he had seen previously, their helmets were similar to the ones already on the suits of Linda and Alex with the obvious exception of the White Ranger's helmet. Crystalline Blasters were holstered on their left hips and their shoulders and upper chests were protected by a strange half breastplate; if such a thing were possible.

"Now that you are Rangers under the banner of the Ultra Rangers, you must follow one simple rule or risk losing the protection of the Power."

He could see the question and anticipation in their body language and braced himself for the confusion and barrage of questions.

"There are no rules."

As expected, the trio of voices assaulted him with a barrage of questions, comments and general expressions of disbelief. Sneaking a glance to the Communications Station, he saw that it was almost fully powered and would be ready to send and receive transmissions in a few minutes. Waiting for the din to die down, he explained the reasons why.

"The Morphin Council decreed that in order to properly protect the world from the Evils of the Universe, the twelve Crystals would be exempt from the three rules that govern all other Rangers. These three rules are as follows. Never use your Powers for personal gain, never escalate a battle unless forced and never reveal your identity. The Ultra Rangers have been following these rules because the world isn't ready to know who we are yet. Knowledge leads to risk, risk leads to injury and injury…well, will lead to death. Plus, we would be personally liable to the damage done in a monster attack and I don't really have a few hundred thousand resting in a bank account."

Chuckles came from the three in front of him and he smiled. First, he would allow them to see what they could do in their armour, next would be weapons training and, finally, he would have to sit down with them and inform them about the other Rangers in the world and in the other dimensions…although he had a strange and nagging feeling the third option would be coming up very soon. Pushing the thoughts out of his mind, he nodded once – noticing how they snapped to attention immediately.

Time to get to work.

TBC…


	11. 10: Dimensions 101

Chapter Ten: Dimensions 101

Sometimes, he hated when he was right.

Although, he certainly hadn't expected Liz to start blasting lasers from her fingertips…that was new even for him. It seemed the Crystal Ranger powers held more and more secrets than he had thought possible. And if they were linked to the Ultra Grid, there was a chance they could call upon the power of their own versions of the Assault and Hellfire Armour. Mentally shaking his head, he knew that dealing with those issues would have to wait until later. The Crystal Rangers had removed their helmets, as if to check their vision, and were staring open mouthed at the ponies on the screen. While it was good to see both Twilight and Fluttershy again after so long, their timing could have been a bit better.

"Is that a pony? A talking pony? Weihan…why is there a talking pony on the screen?"

He felt his left hand come up and smack him in the face. Ignoring the shocked giggles coming from the screen, he returned to his seat and held up a hand. He wondered how he would answer this question as he thought he would have more time to put everything together and maybe rehearse in front of Rachelle before…and he was getting off track in his mind. Part of him even wished for a monster attack to happen so he would have time to come up with a suitable answer. He knew that Jabarkas would never act that independently, but the warrior had changed since his last appearance. If Xonix wasn't around to call the shots, the Huran would have had to send down Goark in the attack. He was left with a growing sense of unease as he realised that Jabarkas would be taking the initiative until his Master was returned.

"They are Rangers, just like us. However, their powers come from a hybrid source – a version of the Zeo Crystal and the seven Elements of Harmony. Their enemy is, or was, a version of Lord Zedd. Now it is someone called Night Shade and his Trotters…and that name sounds damn familiar for some reason."

"What? How do you know they're Rangers? What if they're a force for evil?"

Weihan said nothing and continued initiate the link to the Zordon Archives. During the two years, a new High Council had been put together and they had insisted that one of their outposts be based in the Ultra Cavern. As the High Council consisted of Edward, Dulcea, Ninjor and Dimitria…well, things went remarkably in their favour every time – including the Intergalactic link to the reverentially named Zordon Archives. There was even talk about bringing in more members but no decisions had been made on that front yet. Typing in his password, Weihan began scrolling through the multitudes of update logs, messages and random pranks pulled by Ninjor before finding the search function. Grumbling under his breath about the unintuitiveness of the system and hearing both Billy and Fluttershy laugh, he began searching for the Trotters and Night Shade.

Despite the name, the Zordon Archives was a complete record of everything that had happened, was happening and was prophesised to happen in and around the Universe. He remembered his astonishment when he had stumbled upon the Prophecy of Ultra that Zordon had told him about. Although it was maddeningly vague in its wordings, it had predicted his journey into the Evil Future and, if he wanted to stretch the words a bit, the meeting of AJ and the ponies. Of course, he could also stretch the bit about the great cost to include the Love Tick spell, the Ultra Psycho Rangers and his death…but maybe that was just battling around with semantics.

"The ponies are not a force for evil. They have shown nothing but love and tolerance for each other and any other Rangers they happen to meet. You can trust them with your identities."

Liz looked at the Orange Ranger warily but finally relented. It was clear to her that Weihan had seriously hidden depths as he had carved through the simulated zombie horde without breaking a sweat. She could also have sworn he had been apologising for something as he did…but there was no real reason for him to do so. They were only simulated things after all and he had probably come up with the scenario after a night of horror movies or something. Looking warily at the screen once more, she mulled over the words of her 'leader' and slowly nodded. Placing her right hand over her left wrist, she instinctively pressed down sharply. A slight clicking sound was all the warning she received before her armour literally shattered off her body.

"Hi, my name is Liz Martin and I'm the Ivory Tiger Crystal Ranger."

She wondered where the name had come from. Ivory was not a type of crystal but it was the name that made the most sense, considering the off-white colour of her armour. If it were a shade lighter, then diamond would have been the more appropriate name; yet something prevented her from using that.

"Bec Wheeler, Onyx Mammoth."

"Jorja Cameron, Sapphire Triceratops."

She saw the man in the screen nod before standing up.

"Billy Cranston, Midnight Blue Acceptance Ranger. The unicorn is Twilight Sparkle, Purple Magic Ranger and the Pegasus is Fluttershy, Yellow Kindness Ranger. There are others but they're not around at the moment. Weihan, before I forget, Shining Armour refined his barrier spell and wants you to try and break through it. All three Princesses, Twilight and the Harmony Buster haven't managed to do so and the Tricera Cannon shorted out before it penetrated the first layer of protection."

Weihan nodded and made a sound of acknowledgement, although he was mentally rolling his eyes. An offhanded comment to Shining Armour about strengthening his barrier spell had apparently sunk straight into the mind of Twilight's brother…which would probably turn out to be a blessing in disguise. His eyes narrowed as he scrolled through the information that he had managed to find and absently chewed on his lower lip. The information detailed death, destruction and darkness that were spread from the Trotters. They had even been seen in collaboration with Xonix, although the connection wasn't known to the High Council. A strange energy surge a few hundred years ago had caused them to drop off the radar, but they were listed as inactive threats.

"Billy, I'm going to send you all the information in the Archives about the Trotters. Regard them as extremely dangerous and nopony, not even Rainbow Dash, is allowed to attack them solo. The name Night Shade isn't ringing any bells, though I may have to contact some of my other contacts."

He had a strange feeling that Edward wouldn't know anything about the Trotters or who this Night Shade character was, which left him practically empty-handed. Both Divatox and Rita had survived and were purified, but contact with the both of them was sparse and practically impossible. He had even heard from Edward that Rita had retreated from the so-called Human World to lead the Mystic Realm as the Mystic Mother. The thought of that was practically laughable but Edward had explained that they had used time magic to slip back thirty years. While it still didn't make a whole heap of sense, he had to admit that to start over from the beginning took a damn lot of guts.

That just left Karone but he doubted the former Queen of Evil would want to speak with him. A drunken slip of the tongue from Karone had revealed to Zhane that she wasn't so pure and innocent as she let on and the Silver Ranger had pressed for details. Their relationship had crumbled pretty quickly after that as Karone had apparently spilled every single minute detail to Zhane, the other Astro Rangers…and Andros. To his credit, the Red Astro Ranger thanked him that he had given her some…experience but had told him, in no uncertain terms, that he never wanted to hear that level of description coming from Ashley's mouth. Karone had left the company of the Astro Rangers soon and had been sighted around Sydney a few times. The former villainess was open to continuing where she had left off with the Orange Ranger but Rachelle wasn't too keen on it. Still, she didn't stop her whenever the blonde dropped in for some 'fun'.

"All right. I'll also contact you if something big happens…but don't think you have to come to the rescue all the time. Remember what we discussed."

Weihan nodded once and pursed his lips.

"I'll stay on standby with the Crystal Rangers and a few others. Jabarkas won't go away so I'll leave a few in this dimension."

They had to be ready for anything.

TBC…


	12. 11: Overwhelming Power

AN: Why, yes, the chapter title is based on the 11th chapter of The Ultra Crystals. Well, not so much as based rather than 'I flipped the word order'. Reviews please!

Chapter Eleven: Overwhelming Power

"Come at me with everything you've got."

Liz looked at the Orange Ranger warily. After closing the connection with the other dimension, he had announced that he was going to take their training to the 'next level'. What that meant, none of them were totally sure on but it apparently had something to do with all of them attacking the Orange Ranger en masse…in full morph nonetheless. They had also learned that concentrating their attention on their Crystal Coins allowed for a 'flash' morph of sorts, which was useful for intense battle situations. The only issue she could see was that they had yet to put into practice the actual Morphing sequence using whatever Morphers had been conjured up by whatever driving force was behind the powers in the first place. Just thinking about it was starting to give her a headache and she hoped things wouldn't always be like this.

"I am positive that you won't be able to do any damage to me or the Cavern. Relax and let the Power tell you what to do."

Clearing her mind of all negative thoughts, she allowed herself to think of the one thing that was her strength – her boyfriend Michael Warwick. They had met a few weeks ago at a party of a mutual friend and had clicked right off the bat. He was everything to her but he seemed slightly biased on his views of the Ultra Rangers. Whereas she had thought that the Rangers were protectors of the world, Michael saw them very differently as his experiences had been coloured by the death of a close friend's brother. She didn't know what David Johnston's beef was with the Rangers but every time she saw him, he always spouted off some new bit of information about them that fit in with their 'evil agenda'…whatever that was. Barely registering Bec running at the Orange Ranger, she wondered how exactly she would juggle being a Ranger with Michael as he seemed to want to obtain evidence that the Rangers were evil.

"Mind in the present!"

Liz instinctively ducked as the Raptor Sabre flashed inches above her head. Pushing all thoughts out of her mind, even thoughts about Michael, she centred herself and relaxed. The Power responded to her relaxation and pulsed through her systems and senses, sharpening them to become aware of the location of her opponent. Flipping back to avoid a fireball from the Ranger, her hands snapped out in front of her and she called out the name that flashed through her mind.

"Ivory Spear!"

In a flash of light and the sound of shattering crystal, her weapon appeared in her hands. Leaping to the right to dodge another fireball, she glanced at the weapon and her eyes bulged out. The main staff was about three feet long and was decorated with ornate carvings of tigers in various poses. She could feel a series of buttons under her gloves and wondered what they were for. There was also a strangely decorated Tiger's head at one of the ends…but it looked too small for any sort of blade to come from the opening. Unfortunately, her admiration of her weapon was curtailed by the Orange Ranger bringing his blade down on the staff in a battle of attrition. Her muscles screamed in protest as she tried to push the experienced Ranger away and, in her confusion, her fingers pressed one of the buttons. Immediately, the Tiger head doubled in size and its mouth opened to allow an exquisitely crafted blade to slide out. Taking advantage of Weihan's momentary distraction, she allowed her body to fall on the ground and lashed up with her legs.

"Good attack. Wasn't expecting that. All right, Bec, you next."

Bec looked up from her position on the ground and groaned softly to herself. Her first attempt had gotten nowhere fast and she had drawn upon her karate lessons…but it seemed the young man always had a counter for them. It was almost as if he knew her old Sensei but she wholeheartedly doubted it. Rising slowly from the ground, she rushed him with an axe kick and followed up with a short three-punch combination that, theoretically, should have sent him crashing to the ground. As she executed the moves, the Black Crystal Ranger was shocked to see a thin aura of energy surround her feet and fists, although her focus on the moves never wavered. The Orange Ranger evaded the kick and the first two punches but allowed the third to strike his armour. Retracting her fist, she could see a thin patch of frost extending out from the impact site.

"Interesting…you can tap into the inherent Ice powers of the Mammoth. As Alex is…busy…I can tutor you how to better control the elemental manipulation."

Rebecca nodded once and recalled how he had flung out fire without a second thought. If she could do that with ice…well, the possibilities were pretty much endless. Backing up once more, she allowed her mind to relax and cleared out all thoughts. Resting the bottom of her helmet on her collarbone, she inhaled slowly and allowed the Power to fill her body and mind. New information blasted into her memory and fighting styles of different types subtly tweaked her limbs so the movements would be intuitive. The most alarming tidbit of knowledge to come into her mind was the use of her personal weapons – the Ice Pistols. Living in a town on the outskirts of Sydney, she had seen her fair share of gun-related violence. There had even been an incident where there had been a violent gun rampage literally outside the front door and bullets had been fired into the house, missing her head by millimetres. Her dislike of guns had only been strengthened when she had been forced to pick up her grandfather's pistol and aim it at a would-be burglar. She had vowed to never again use a gun unless there was no other choice…but it seemed that time had finally come.

"Ice Pistols!"

Pistol-shaped blocks of ice formed in her hands before shattering to reveal two guns of a futuristic design. Blue and purple in colour, they were vaguely shaped like Mammoth heads, with the trunk being the barrel. They reminded her of the Gauntlet Blaster of the Black/Green Ranger and, for the millionth time in the past hour, she wondered what the connection between the Powers was. Dismissing the thoughts, she lifted the weapons and pulled back the triggers, sending dark purple blasts screaming toward the Orange Ranger. New information regarding her weapons flashed across her HUD and she smiled under the helmet. Snapping her head up, she allowed the Power to flow into her fingers, allowing blast after blast of energy to fill the air before making her move. Flicking both wrists up sharply, she could see the barrels snapping up at a forty-five degree angle and thin blue blades sliding out. As the last of the blasts impacted against a surface, she bolted toward the Orange Ranger and brought the blades down in a vicious slashing attack…and hit nothing but air.

"Good attack but lacked momentum."

The voice behind her made her spin around…and sag in defeat. Weihan was standing there with his Sabre pointed at her throat. Dismissing his Sabre, he turned to Jorja who was watching her friends fail in their attacks. She knew that there was no way they could ever hope to defeat him in straight combat so decided to use an alternate way of fighting. Clearing her mind of all doubts, she tensed her body and leapt at his back. As predicted, he turned to face her and she could see his astonishment as flipped over his head. Lashing out with a back kick before he could turn around, she continued attacking his back with a flurry of kicks – never once letting up her assault.

This was the correct way to attack the foes they would have to face in the future and Weihan knew that she knew. Even though it was rather difficult to concentrate on anything else while being repeatedly kicked, he managed to use the momentum to turn around to face the Sapphire Triceratops Ranger. Timing his actions perfectly, he reached out with his arms and grabbed her lower leg. She froze, unsure of what to do next and yelped in fright as he yanked her towards him. The Orange Ranger pulled her in until their helmets were almost touching and in a motion too fast for her to comprehend, slammed her to the ground with one hand on her helmet and the other on her chest. She could see a faint orange glow on the underside of the hand and swallowed hard.

"Good attack, good momentum but a little sloppy on a follow-up."

Weihan released the Blue Crystal Ranger from his hold and stepped back. They had the abilities within them to be good Rangers but there was only so much he could teach them on his own. Morphed fighting was pretty much the only way he could get up close and personal to them without risking his future ability to breed but they needed to know how to fight unmorphed. He also needed to brush up on his magic abilities, specifically the memory wiping spells…but he would cross that bridge when it came up. As it stood now, he could wipe memories, but he couldn't control the time period. He had hated himself the first time he had experimented, but Ninjor and Edward stated that it was the only way that it could be done. And he knew that no one would care if a few homeless people lost a few of their memories. If anything, he thought he was making their lives better by blanking them out.

"All right…two out of three have summoned weapons. I think the next bit of training will revolve –"

"Command Tower to Ultra Cavern, please respond! There's a big attack and…Spike, I can't…"

Weihan's eyes darted to the Communications Station and practically flew to the Dimensional Doorway, barely registering the twin teleportation beams entering the Ultra Cavern or his armour vanishing. All but slamming his hand on the button for the screen, he waited for the image to flicker into view. At once, the frightened face of Princess Luna filled the screen, Spike close behind her. Immediately switching his mind to 'battle mode', he asked the clearly shaken Princess what the matter was but it was the baby Dragon that answered.

"A few minutes after your call, there was an attack in the Changeling Lands by, if you can believe it, Tricksy. Billy sent the others to help Princess Celestia and from the last accounts, they were doing well. Well, Twi kinda freaked out about the Princess as usual so Applejack had to take charge for a while. They're doing all they can so I doubt they'll need any help. Uh, then about a good half hour or so ago, Discord popped up and began blasting in Canterlot. The Royal Guard managed to get most of the civilians into the Monster Shelters but Discord wasn't alone. This is the image of the new foot soldiers…if I can find the button…"

The image on the screen dissolved into a shot of several humanoid figures and Weihan felt his breath catch in his throat. If he didn't know any better, he would have said they were Golems…but he didn't think Night Shade had anything to do with Xonix. Shaking his head, he tapped the controls to move the image closer. Sure enough, they had the familiar rocky bodies of Golems but the similarities ended there. Their eyes were sunken pits with a spiralling horn protruding from their foreheads. They had hoof-like hands and feet at the end of their limbs and bony tails snaked out of their hindquarters. And smack dab in the middle of the group was Discord, the humanoid former Alicorn looking similar to the last time they had crossed blades. The only striking addition was the new armour that had been somehow acquired. Narrowing his eyes, he looked closer at the strange armour and felt an icy fist slam hard in his gut.

Discord had somehow acquired Hellfire Armour.

He attempted to compose himself and looked at the Rangers around him. The three Crystal Rangers had their helmets off and were looking confused, while the two other Rangers – Rachelle and Will – had their faces set into a hard look. If Discord had Hellfire Armour then…well, there was only one course of action to take. Seeing the White and Silver Ultra Rangers nod once, he made his decision.

"We're coming through"

TBC…


	13. 12: Counting Numbers

Chapter Twelve: Counting Numbers

It was amazing what he could do sometimes.

Bree chewed on the end of her pen as she stared at the boy in front of her. She doubted anyone knew, except her, that he was a magically-created duplicate. She wouldn't even know what to look for if her sister hadn't given her a detailed list of all the 'inconsistencies' to look for…namely the impeccably neat handwriting and diagram drawing. She had wondered if the original would be able to see and absorb information at the same time as the double was learning it, but AJ had said there was a slight time delay. That made some amount of sense as the last thing Weihan would want was some irrelevant information about beer, wine or alcohol filtering into his mind in the middle of battle or wherever he was at the moment. She looked to the three girls flanking him and wondered what they were doing at that exact moment. Liz, Bec and Jorja had 'signed up' to be Rangers almost instantly; a fact she wouldn't have known about if the duplicate hadn't informed her. As most of the other Ultra Rangers were probably in classes, he would have to train them in hand-to-hand fighting and semi-advanced weapon usage. Of course, the Power would compensate for their inexperience until the moves and motions became second nature.

As she copied down the notes that the teacher was dictating, she saw a barely perceptible shudder run over the bodies of the four duplicates and wondered what had happened to the originals. Placing her pen down on her book, she lightly brushed her left wrist, feeling the cool surface of the communicator the duplicate of the Orange Ranger had given to her. As the other Ultra Rangers knew that she had connections to AJ, they had assured her that she could give them orders in battle if the need arose. She doubted that would be the case in the future but had been looking through books on military history and tactics just in case. She could also, at her discretion, 'recruit' her sister to help out in the Ultra Cavern if there was ever a time that there were multiple battles going on at once. She doubted that would happen as well, but it was always good to have a back-up plan. Besides, her sister was looking after Andrew's son…that no one in the family knew he had. Her sister hadn't said much about it and hoped what she knew didn't come to bite her in the ass later down the track.

"All right, we'll break for fifteen and then I'll show you the videos."

As the class filed out of the room, Bree stood up and made her way to the duplicates. Emma and Tara were near Phoebe and were looking at her with expressions of disbelief of their faces. Where Daphne was, she didn't know or couldn't see. The duplicate of the Orange Ranger looked up at the redhead and smiled as warmly as he could. As they were the only students left in the classroom, the teacher nodded at them and closed the door.

"The original isn't on this dimensional plane anymore. My guess is that something came up in Equestria."

"Wait, where's Equestria and who's the original?"

Looking behind her, Bree sighed internally as she saw the trio come up to them. Emma looked at them closely with an expression of distaste mixed with some confusion. Phoebe was talking with Tara in hushed tones and was lingering back somewhat. Lifting up her wrist, Bree tapped a few buttons to ensure that no one would be listening in on their conversation as she had a feeling the volume levels would be…somewhat raised. She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by the duplicate.

"Equestria is a place on the other side of the dimensional barrier. They have their own set of Rangers but sometimes call for assistance if they are faced with an extremely powerful opponent such as one of the Ultra Psycho Rangers. As for your other question, I and the other three girls are magical duplicates created by the Orange Ranger to ensure there are no missed lessons while they are away."

Emma blinked once and then started laughing. There was no way that Weihan could have duplicated himself as no one could be in two different places at the same time. It was just impossible unless this other person was a doppelganger or something. Her laughter slowly trailed off as she realised no one else was laughing. Even Tara, who was a vehement opposer of wearing anything resembling spandex, was looking at the quartet of would-be duplicates closely. She could believe in magic, giant Zords and Power Rangers as they were all things that she had some experience with, whether from good or evil perspectives. Yet, there was something about the way he had said it that made it seem both unrealistic and realistic…and that was something that truly boggled her mind, let alone that part about the 'other dimension'.

"All right, I can believe the part about the magic duplicates and other dimensions; even though I think that's just a crock of shit. If the Ultra Rangers are so damned powerful, why don't they help those that are in need of it?"

Bree shook her head as she realised where Emma's argument was headed. Liz had pulled her aside a few hours after the attacks and explained what Emma's problems were surrounding the Ultra Rangers. Unsurprisingly, it all revolved around her personal tragedy in New York and the date of 9/11. In truth, she had also wondered why the Ultra Rangers hadn't bothered to make any appearances during or after the attacks and had vented that frustration out to Adam. The Green Zeo Ranger had informed her that there had been a general distress call that had gone out to all Rangers involving a planet in the far-off reaches of the Universe. The planet had been, once upon a time, the testing grounds of the Ultra Crystals and had finally succumbed to the effects of the intense energy. To see a planet ripping itself apart would be a spectacle that would rival the destruction of the Twin Towers, but that had meant that the Spiderian race was forever extinct.

To be entirely fair to the Ultra Rangers, they hadn't known that there was going to be an attack as they had left a day or so before. Rocky had explained them coming back to see that the other Rangers had the situation well in hand and that their absence and explanation wouldn't be accepted by the public as a whole. After all, not many people were aware that there were planets with life on them on the other side of the Universe…well, that weren't teeming with Evil creatures. Plus, there was that little detail of how normal people wouldn't likely voyage to the stars or fly at interstellar speeds.

"They did help those that were in need of it, but I understand you are speaking from a relatively sheltered point of view and are unaware of the other races in the Universe. They left the Earth a day before the attacks and were not readily in range of any communication equipment until their return. They chose not to release a statement because the truth is; most humans are unaware that there are other sentients in the Universe. They tend to think mostly of themselves and their problems which are, in comparison, very petty. If you lose a loved one, that is bad but only to you and your other family groups. The human race will still persist. However, if a planet is destroyed with the loss of all inhabitants, the Universe mourns as an entire species is wiped out."

Bree silently wondered if Weihan had instilled the slightly pompous attitude into the magical duplicates. While she could see where the clone was going, there were better ways that it could be transmitted. And yet, she had a feeling that the rather blunt way was the only way it would penetrate Emma's preconceived notions. The Asian girl stood still, opening and closing her mouth a few times before venting out a rather frustrated sound and stomping off, Tara in tow. The clone shrugged and turned to Phoebe.

"Sorry you had to see all of that, but the original was going to say that eventually. Even with the continuing attacks on their world, humans are actually quite ignorant of what is happening in the Universe…let alone the Multiverse."

The blonde girl blinked and then shook her head slightly, as if pushing the information from her mind. Bree shook her head as well and checked how much time was left – around ten minutes until break was over. As Phoebe struggled to find the words she wanted to say, Bree wondered what sort of emergency Equestria was facing this time. Although she hadn't been through the Dimensional Doorway, she had heard many things about the world protected by the ponies. She was also very curious about whom this 'Applebloom' character was and if she really did resemble her in some ways. She also made a mental note to tell Weihan about the strange dreams she kept having. There was no reason why she should be dreaming of two very different dinosaurs running through the snow in her mind. Maybe they were supposed to go to someone else, someone who was better qualified than her. After all, she was just the younger sister of the former lover of the Orange Ranger who had become a Ranger for all of fifteen minutes. It was too much of a stretch to her that the Power had chosen her based on that shaky connection.

"I want to join up and become something better than what I am now."

TBC…


	14. 13: Time Delay

Chapter Thirteen: Time Delay

He couldn't believe it.

The thought that Xonix had planned in advance for this very scenario was absolutely mind-blowing. Jabarkas looked over his Master's notes for the umpteenth time and at the carefully synchronised timers in the innermost sanctum of Xonix's quarters. There were no less than fourteen monsters scattered across the globe, monsters that had been carefully positioned and nurtured within baths of the purest unstable energy known. They would have different abilities, strengths and weaknesses and would force the Rangers to actually think and not randomly point their weapons at it to make it explode. The Old Guard of Rangers were off pursuing their own lives and dreams and the Ultra Rangers wouldn't want to pull them back into the fight so readily as before – not with the risk of their identities being exposed so high.

He chuckled under his breath as he thought about the events on the surface of Earth over the past two years. The terror attacks in the place called America had shaken the world to its very core and had made the Earthlings more paranoid than before. Surveillance cameras were upgraded with the best technology and they dotted almost every street corner and dark alley, looking for the faceless men who threatened security. The Ultra Rangers would no longer have the luxury of morphing in an open area…unless they destroyed every camera in the area beforehand. Then again, the constant paranoia meant that monster attacks would be detected earlier but the Rangers always seemed to know when a monster reared its head anyway. If his Master had known about how much pure fear and terror could be produced by a simple act, the campaign against the Rangers would have been over before it started.

The Huran paused as a thought occurred to him. His Master had attempted a similar tactic once before, but it had been stopped by the Orange Ranger whipping out his Zeo Powers. Of course, the attack had been directed more at the buildings at the base of the tower but the intention was as clear as day to anyone with a brain. Or maybe the attack had always been for the Orange Ranger to draw out more of his Power Set, Jabarkas didn't know. His eyes roamed the documents once more, unable to look away from the facts outlined on the parchments. There were monsters from Zedd, the Machine Empire and one from Dark Spectre himself; all locked away until their timers ran out. There were even Blanks – empty shells that housed nothing more than a single thought or word on a scrap of paper. Power would seek out Power but he didn't have to worry about the monsters joining up with Lothor anytime soon. The power of the Space Ninja was still too weak and his initial attempts at conquering had been beaten back by a new team of Power Rangers that had popped up. With any luck, the creature that was hidden close to Blue Bay Harbour wouldn't ever come into contact with Lothor or the new Rangers. The last thing anyone needed was for more Ranger connections to be made and potentially increase the amount of allies the Ultra Rangers could draw upon.

Picking up a stylus that had been placed nearby, he absently chewed the end of it and thought about how he had found about this place. Twinlobe had wondered about some abnormal energy readings coming from Xonix's quarters and, in an extremely brash move, had asked Yit to…investigate. The former Sha'Kahr warrior had investigated it all right, by tapping into the natural ability of his species to travel through electric currents. The Anishan had despaired at the damage that had been caused, but that had been forgotten upon the discovery of the timers. Needless to say, Jabarkas had been roused from slumber by the excited squeals of the scientist and had demanded to see exactly what had the alien so joyous. He had never expected to find a hidden sanctum in the Moon Palace, though it had probably been a holdover from Zedd.

"Vectron, Blackened Hearts, Reflectro…the names of the monsters are a jumble. How the Master thought these would be enough to take over the planet in his absence, well, the thought boggles the mind."

Nodding absently at Twinlobe, Jabarkas studied the locations once more. There was no pattern to the placements of the creatures and, amusingly enough, two of them had been placed in the same spot. What that would do to their development was anyone's guess, but his Master had made a note to be ready for anything. Whether that meant a double-strength monster or a single one fused together would remain to be seen. Shaking his head, the Huran pushed himself away from the parchments and timers and made his way to the door. If the timers were right, there would be one awakening within the week and the location brought a wry smile to his face. The location was the site of the battle against the Ultra Rangers two years ago, when his Master had done the impossible and shattered the Ultra Crystals outright. That the Crystals had reformed soon afterwards was a mere technicality.

He needed to secure the area of the awakening site and protect the power within from Lothor. Even though the Space Ninja had his hands full, there was always the possibility that he would send one or two of his followers to secure the site. The Orange Ranger and those new Crystal Rangers would then come soon after and the monster would be destroyed soon after…no, he would stake out the area tonight and secure it before that bumbling fool could catch its scent.

He owed his Master that much.

TBC…


	15. 14: New Zords

Chapter Fourteen: New Zords

"Is it always this hectic?"

Weihan shook his head and continued to search the databanks. They had come back from Equestria around an hour ago and he was trying to see if there was any way, in any time, that a Mammoth, a Tiger and a Triceratops could come together to form a Megazord. His own designs had been slightly sketchy and had involved large pieces of the Zords being left out, so he had decided to dive into the archives to see if there was any way that the three Dinozords could combine without looking like a dog's breakfast. So far, there was pretty much nothing he could see that would make it possible and he almost wished Ninjor would pop up with the new Zords so he had a better understanding of what they looked like.

"Ask and you will receive!"

Spinning around at the voice, Weihan blinked at the flash of light that signalled the appearance of the blue-armoured Zord Master. Ninjor's expressionless face seemed to smile warmly as he walked toward the Orange Ranger. He was aware of the Crystal Rangers settling into unsure offensive stances and he waved them down. After all, given enough time and preparation, Ninjor could wipe the floor with any Ranger…provided there weren't any sneak attacks. The Ninja Master extended his hand and the two warriors clasped forearms, a Universal sign of respect and greeting.

"Ninjor! I was just thinking about you!"

The blue warrior seemed to smirk for a moment before looking at the three new individuals. He could see great potential within them but, to his eyes, it seemed that they would soon decide that this path wasn't for them. How 'soon' soon was, well, that was anyone's guess but he had to tell the Orange Ranger in private so the later decision didn't come out of the blue for him. Releasing the arm of the Orange Ranger, he walked up to them and circled each one, noting how they stiffened slightly at his approach. Weihan had taught them well in the arts of magic but there were still areas they had to work on solo. Not that that mattered much when piloting the Zords, but an increased magic potential would make understanding the information slightly easier.

"Yeah, well, I was going to come here anyway and then all of a sudden, the Universal Morphin Grid is screaming into my ears about preparing the energies for a new set of Zords. I ask what type of Zords and they say Dinozords attuned to the properties of the Crystal Coins. What are the Crystal Coins and how come I've never heard of them?"

Weihan rolled his eyes at the over-dramatics of the Ninja Master and opened his mouth to reply, when a grin slowly spread over his face. Due to the hectic-ness of the events surrounding the battle with Xonix, the journey to Chysannas and the time spent cramming for the HSC, he hadn't asked Ninjor about the strange bit of information that Ultraris had leaked to him all those years ago regarding the release of the Ultra Crystals or, as Ninjor had accidentally said, jettisoned. On the other hand, he guessed he had to answer the question of the Crystal Coins sooner or later.

"Don't look at me, all the information I know you told me last night. And how come you said the thirteen Crystals were jettisoned instead of released? Zordon told me you released them in conjunction with the plan."

Ninjor swallowed hard and wondered how that embarrassing piece of information had made it out. He had all but forced the memory of Goldar attacking the lab chambers and the chaos and confusion of the following fight…and the memory of hitting the release button on the gravity well. In hindsight, they should have maybe thought to place a lid or cover to stop the escape but that was literally in the past. Under the steely gaze of the Orange Ranger, the Ninja Master nodded once and cleared his throat.

"Well, yes, they were jettisoned into space and it was all part of a plan – just not Zordon's. I was going to retrieve them and tie them to the Ninja Temple or Phaedos, but they vanished in a warp before I could track them. And then there were all the problems with constructing Zordon's tube and finding him in the time warp. Next thing I know, some kid on Earth connects to the Orange Ultra Crystal and I find myself facing down the kid in a poorly thought out test."

Weihan knew Ninjor was trying to cover his ass and dropped the subject. Besides, he was asking questions about an event that happened thousands of years ago. It was literally Ancient History but he had a strange feeling that he had to know the surrounding details for…well, his hunches never really made sense but they seemed to work out in the end. Plus, they were pointing him in the direction of where those strange voices were coming from and why Zordon's voice kept mentally calling him. He would surely learn to tune the voice out until the time came for him to learn the truth. He hoped so anyway as the last thing he needed was to hear the voice of the long-deceased mentor when he was in a…compromising position or when he was running to avoid the few times that Zhane had tracked him down. He stifled a chuckle on recalling the strange news reports that had revolved around the spectacle of their chases; the fully-morphed Orange Ultra Ranger running madly away from an unmorphed Zhane waving the Silveriser around like some drunken maniac. So far, they hadn't run into Karone during the chases but Weihan had seen her giggling out of the corner of his eye during the last 'run'.

"All right, I get it. So, what do the new Zords look like or do I have to send them off on some sort of quest again?"

The ground rumbled under his feet and he hoped the Ultra Cavern could still extend to accommodate the new Zords. As it stood, the Ultra Cavern was fast becoming the 'safe' storage space for all Zords of active Rangers. Well, except for the Ninja Storm Rangers and whatever strange robots Tommy was building with help from Kim and that chick he picked up. Where Anton was in all of that, he had no idea; then again, the scientist had all but dropped off the map when his private island had exploded. Something about that incident screamed 'Evil Lord Coming Soon' but that was Tommy's problem now and they would only get involved if the Red Zeo Ranger had something stupid happen to him. Examples would be getting trapped in a crystal cocoon, being knocked into a coma or him doing something iffy with his powers and being stuck in morph. In short, things that were pretty much likely to occur.

"The new Zords are in the lower Chamber when not in use, but can be raised up to the Main Chamber like so."

A previously-open patch of ground slid open to reveal a wide chasm of darkness and the Orange Ranger could hear some sort of mechanism in use. He knew of the service elevator that had taken him, Edward and the dead Golem to the lowest Chambers but the Zord elevator was new to him. As the silhouettes on the platform began to come into view, he felt his mouth drop open in amazement. The Zords were, at least, as big as the 'revamped' Tyrannosaurus Dinozord he had seen in Equestria…which would meant they would tower over the 'original' Dinozords while being the same size and scale as the Ultra Dinozords. The first Zord that came fully into the light was the Onyx Mammoth. He had seen the exterior of the Zord before in the image flash the previous day, but nothing prepared him for the majestic sight of seeing it in person. The armour was sculpted to mimic chipped onyx and the tusks protruded out from either sides of the trunk as twin sabres of white and silver. There was almost no other colour on the Zord and it looked like it was designed for best performance in a dark place or a battle at night. If he squinted hard enough, he could see the seams and joins in the armour that hinted at its transforming potential…but would probably only amount to the arms and fists of the Megazord as always. On both sides of the massive flanks protruded two cannons and he wondered what would be fired out in the heat of battle. He could practically hear Bec squealing with delight and amazement at the sight of her Zord.

The Ivory Tiger was no less majestic and no less monochromatic. He supposed the only way to tell where it was in a heavy blizzard would be the pinpricks of red that were its eyes and the thick black marks that lined its body. Other than that, he guessed he would have to avoid looking directly at it in sunlight or find a way to activate the light-dampening feature on his visor. He could see the similarities between it and the White Tiger Thunderzord but could plainly see that it was bristling with additional weapons…almost as if it was more suited to wading into the thick of battle and nuking everything around it. Certainly that would make for rather interesting battle strategies in the future

If the Mammoth was the 'night fighter' and the Tiger was the walking tank, the Sapphire Triceratops Zord was a defensive powerhouse. Thick slabs of cerulean armour covered the exterior and the distinctive frilled head of the ceratopsian Zord had an external shield generator embedded on the surface. Of course, it was protected by a thick overlay of armour plating. It was also armed to the teeth with cannons protruding from places that were clear of armaments on the Triceratops Ultra Dinozord. The strange thing, to his eyes at least, about the Zord was that there was a strange join or fold in the middle of it; almost as if it was designed to split in two pieces. Shaking his head, he resigned himself to the thought that he would just have to find out what the gestalt would look like when the time for combination took place. Looking at the three Crystal Dinozords once more, his eyes narrowed slightly as he saw a space that looked like another Zord could fit in it. Glancing around him, it seemed that the only ones that had noticed the extra space was Will and Rachelle…and it seemed Ninjor had noticed they had noticed. Clearing his mind of all external thoughts, he stretched out his feelings to feel the energy in and around the empty spot.

An image popped into his head of a dark pink and white Pteranodon…no, it was slightly smaller than Heather's Zord so it would actually be a Pterodactyl. In contrast to the powerhouses around it, the image in his mind's eye seemed…lacking. There were no external turrets anywhere he could see and the wings were in a fixed position. Whether or not it would look more spectacular in front of him was up for debate but if he was getting an image of an absent Zord in the line-up…his thoughts trailed off as a smile slowly spread across his face. Unless an attack happened in the next hour or so, he would be training a new Ranger soon. As Ninjor announced the Zords to the Crystal Rangers, he had to bite down on his tongue to keep from laughing.

"Crystal Rangers, meet your Crystal Dinozords."

TBC…


	16. 15: Spies in the Night

Chapter Fifteen: Spies in the Night

"I don't see why we have to be the ones to get it!"

The blonde girl rolled her eyes as she listened to her companion complain over and over. She scanned the area and scowled softly before checking the strange device she brought out of her bag. It would be good if their uncle had told them what he was looking for or what it looked like, but she highly doubted her uncle knew either. She also wondered what this supposed new power was doing inside a greenhouse but a part of her informed her she didn't really want to know.

"Come on Kapri! We could have sent a monster down to look for us! Or we could have asked one of those guys to do it, though they would have to think about things other than their supposed revenge, I guess…"

"Marah, a monster would attract too much attention and those two guys wouldn't know what to look for either."

As Marah pouted at the rebuke, Kapri rolled her eyes once again and wondered if her eyes could fall out by doing that too many times. They had taken great pains to hide their energy signatures from both the Power Rangers and the so-called 'Ultra' Rangers their uncle had warned them about. A small energy spike in the city of Sydney had piqued his interest and he had sent the two of them to seize control of it. Unfortunately, they were stuck with their own fighting abilities as backup as the PAM emitted too much of an easily detectable signature. Lothor had assured them that, if need arose, he could easily send down Zurgane or even a small group of Kelzacks to back them up. She doubted very much that he would want to send _them_ down anyway as their uncle wanted to keep them secret for a few more days.

"But how long do we have to wait?"

"You can stop waiting now."

Turning around at the unfamiliar voice, the two girls blinked as they finally registered the screams filling the air around them. In front of them was the warrior that had been looking all over the Universe for his missing Master. They exchanged looks with each other and promptly fled the scene, knowing they were outmatched. Jabarkas watched them go before looking behind him at Yit. The former Sha'Kahr warrior unfolded his arms from their resting positions and seemed to smile under his mask before a yellowish-green energy shimmer enveloped his body. As Yit streaked into a nearby power point, Jabarkas leant back and waited for the inevitable arrival of the Ultra Rangers. As he waited, he silently cursed Lothor under his breath as the Space Ninja had forced him to accelerate his own plans by more than a week. The monster inside the time-delayed spell couldn't be moved and he would have to ensure no human went near it.

"Stop right there!"

Smirking at the voice, he lazily turned around to face…a set of Rangers that weren't the Ultra Rangers. Whoever they were, they were clad in strange gem-like armour that shimmered and glinted in the dying sunlight and there were only three colours – Blue, White and Black. He slowly ran his tongue over his lips and grinned evilly as the trio looked at him uncertainly. It seemed that their mentor or whoever it was hadn't informed them of him, which was a good thing for him as it would allow him to…

"You three spread out and search the area. There's a monster or something here so this will be your first major test."

His lips curled at the voice and the familiar form of the Orange Ranger filled his view. So, it seemed that the Orange Ranger had somehow brought together a team of Rangers to oppose him. He supposed that made some degree of sense as the human couldn't always call in his friends…they had their own lives to live after all. Noticing the Orange Ranger looking at the pieces on his waist loop curiously, he chuckled to himself and slid them out of their sheaths. It had been during his journey around the Universe which he had come across a strange arms dealer selling a strangely crafted weapon. Actually, strange hadn't even begun to cover the…uniqueness of the creature that had encased his head in a clear tube. Broodwing had supplied most of the parts but had warned him that the core Crystal was notoriously prone to being extremely unstable every once in a while. With a bit of brainwork, he had managed to bypass that problem by allowing the weapon the channel the energy produced by the instability into a powerful strike.

Sliding the halves of the staff together, he waited for the slight click that signalled they were joined together. As it clicked, the blades slid out of the seemingly tiny staff and he could almost see the jaw drop of the Orange Ranger. As the axe shaft vibrated as the core Crystal spun to life, he hefted the weapon onto his shoulders and motioned for the Orange Ranger to make his move. As the familiar shape of the 'Raptor Sabre' sprang into existence, Jabarkas chuckled under his breath and hoped Yit could secure the site.

"What are you doing here, Jabarkas?"

Tightening his grip on the Sabre, Weihan kept an eye on the radar on his HUD. Will, Rachelle and the others were in the Ultra Cavern and were keeping an eye on things from there, but he felt better if he knew what was happening at all times. He really needed to push down his need for control but rationalised it as being part of the burden of the leader. Everything had been going well; Ninjor had explained some of the finer points of the Crystal Dinozords and had departed as quickly as he had arrived. After scanning the cockpits into the Simul-Deck, he had wanted to give them some Zord Handling lessons and then Bree had teleported in with Phoebe Tyker in tow. After a quick chat with the Rangers about what they had missed, Bree had pulled him to one side and told him about the mini-confrontation his double had with Emma. It was something that was bound to happen sooner or later, but she had been astounded that he wanted to be the one to convey those thoughts. The redhead had opened her mouth to say something else but had only managed two words before everything had gone to Hell

The alarms had gone off.

Will had slid behind the Radar Station and had brought up the location fairly quickly. Ironic amusement filtered through the Ultra Rangers as they saw that the location of the disturbance was the only place that had survived relatively unscathed in the battle against Xonix: the Botanical Gardens Greenhouse. Why Jabarkas had chosen to make an appearance there just to intimidate two girls was anyone's guess but there was a creature with him that had everyone freaking out slightly. How it could travel through the electrical system was anyone's guess, but there was no denying how dangerous it could be if left unchecked. As he hadn't given Phoebe the Power just yet, he had her stay in the Ultra Cavern while the others went off to deal with the strange creature. Of course, he would go up against Jabarkas and ensure that the warrior didn't cause too much damage in his boredom.

"That's for me to know and you to not find out!"

The warrior rushed him, axe held above his head. The Orange Ranger flipped out of the way as the weapon came down and retaliated with a quick slash with his Sabre. There were strange energy readings coming from the shaft of the axe and he seriously didn't want to be around if the weapon chose that moment to go nova. Of course, he had enough difficulty defending himself against an axe-wielder and made a mental note to get some sparring in with Alex later. Spinning around to dodge a wild slash from the warrior, Weihan dropped his right hand to his belt and pulled out the Raptor Laser. Now he would have a long-range option as well as an extra blade if things got a bit too out of hand.

"Liz, how's everything on your end? Anything yet?"

"No…nothing yet. We're keeping an eye out for anything that doesn't belong."

With a flick of the wrist, the Orange Ranger converted his blaster into its Laser Blade mode and circled warily around his opponent. The Crystal Rangers could take care of themselves and those in the Ultra Cavern could give them solid advice on what to do. He was still a bit iffy on what exactly Jorja's weapons were but knew that, whatever size or shape, they would be able to fit easily into whatever blaster weapon was formed. Despite reports suggesting otherwise, he knew that no blaster with only three components would pack as big a punch as a five-or-more weapon combo. He began to relax slightly but a sharp burst of static cut through his thoughts.

"We're under attack!"

TBC…


	17. 16: Electric Hell

Chapter Sixteen: Electric Hell

How do you hit something you can't see?

That was the question running through the mind of Liz Martin as she ducked, weaved and rolled away from the blasts that were seemingly coming from everywhere at once. Taking a few moments to catch her breath, she looked at her hands and tried to remember what she had done to make the lasers come from her fingers. She could, theoretically, go for her blaster but she didn't want to seem too damn obvious. Whatever the strange creature was, it could strike them from anywhere. She could hear the grunts and shouts coming over the radio from Weihan's fight with the warrior Jabarkas and knew that he would be all right. After all, she had witnessed first hand how he dove into the situations at hand and made snap decisions based on the events around him. She still thought he had taken an unnecessary risk by healing the purple Unicorn but, from what the other pony Rangers had told her, it pretty much mirrored the way the Ultra Rangers had introduced themselves.

Rolling backward as sparks erupted around her, she nervously looked behind her at the wall that was coming closer with every roll. Although many of the civilians in the area had fled when the two creatures had appeared, there were still a handful of people around. Since camera phones were slowly starting to gain popularity, many amateur 'news crews' had sprung up. She doubted Weihan would want the Crystal Rangers to be exposed to the world like this…but, as he had told them, sometimes a Ranger didn't always get what they wanted. Slowly getting to her feet, she summoned her Ivory Spear and held it in what the Power was telling her was a stance used on Satiuqea V. Jorja and Bec were pinned down in a small cubby-hole a few metres away and she knew that…thing…knew it as well.

"Little Ranger, what hope do you have against me? My species was leaping for the stars while yours was still making fire. However, if you can damage me enough, I will allow you to go free. If not…well, that won't matter much."

She tightened her grip around the shaft and looked around her for the source of the voice. A flash of movement in the corner of her eye madder her spin around and thrust the point of the blade at…empty air. Growling under her breath, she took a tentative step forward and staggered back as blasts pummelled her chest. Sparks flew everywhere as the armour repair systems struggled to cope with the continual damage but she held firm and swung her spear in a wide arc. Her arms shuddered slightly as the weapon connected with a stealthy figure and, as the warnings and sparks faded from her vision, she saw her opponent.

Whatever it was, it looked like most of its body had been replaced with metal and robotics. There was a set of extra arms unfolding out of its shoulders and its head was enclosed in a strangely Y-shaped helmet. The visor on the helmet was also shaped into a Y, but, in the dying light filtering through the plate glass windows; it became semi-transparent – allowing the Ivory Crystal Ranger to see the face of her opponent. Two compound eyes stared back from a face that looked extremely similar to a fly's head. The only difference was the vertical mouth that was lined with tiny, razor sharp teeth…and she shuddered at the uncomfortable feelings running through her body. Twirling her spear once more, she brought the blade down on its right shoulder and pushed down hard as metal met metal.

"What the fuck are you?"

The robotic beast snarled and jerked its head away from the shafts of light, bringing up its left hand and balling it into a fist. There was a soft hissing sound and three claws made of green energy slid out of its knuckles. Liz's eyes widened in surprise and her mind went blank as she tried to process the new information. In that fleeting moment of uncertainty and doubt, everything changed. The strange robotic creature leapt off the ground in a display of jaw-dropping agility and tucked its legs into its belly, unleashing them in a powerful kick that seemed to actually dent the armoured vest. Liz braced herself for the impact against the wall but was slightly surprised when the wall crumbled upon her impact with it. She could see the other two Crystal Rangers attacking the strange monster and run to her side.

"What's that? New Rangers? Hey, get out the camera! There are new Rangers on the scene!"

Liz shook her head and groaned under her breath as the noise around her slowly grew to fever pitch, despite the menacing form of the cyborg creature. Allowing Bec and Jorja to help her to her feet, she began scanning the area for places where the creature would likely be able to hide. Apart from a few self-contained light poles, there were no signs of public power points or even anything that could connect to the electric grid of Sydney. There was a strange, strongly glowing object near the far wall but she didn't think that would…

"Uh, Rachelle, can you give me a reading of the glowing thing I'm seeing near the rear entrance? I could be wrong and I hope I am, but it looks to be pushing up from the ground."

Low mumblings of acknowledgement were heard over the communication system as the Silver Ultra Ranger homed in on the glowing object. The cyborg had stepped into the dying light again but made no moves towards the huddled Rangers. Instead, it began walking to the spherical object and began chanting in a language that sounded like gibberish. The object began slowly pulsing with a sickly yellow light that lasted for about a minute or two. The civilians around the area slowly began registering the strange objet and the possible evil links that it would have and began to make their way away from the inevitable battle as quickly as they could.

Twin flashes of colour behind her signalled the other Rangers pulling out their weapons. Liz glanced behind to see what weapon Jorja had at her disposal and her eyes widened slightly. She had seen the early footage of three Ninjetti Rangers battling the creatures known as Rito, Goldar and a strange monster rat…thing, and had seen the Orange Ranger pull out a pair of ornately designed and decorated sai. The weapons that Jorja had pulled out were almost exact replicas of Weihan's Ninjetti weapons, but with a few differences. The first difference was the placement of the blades. Instead of the straight placement, the blades were arranged in a triangle shape reminiscent of the head of the dinosaur Jorja's powers were based on. Despite the strange placement, the Sapphire Blue Ranger had little to no trouble on sliding her fingers through the spaces. The second difference was the slightly elongated handle that had a small hole in the bottom, - almost like the opening of a blaster or something.

"Rangers, whatever that thing is, it's sending out a strange energy signal…almost like it's…no, that can't be possible! Weihan, can you use your suit to analyse what I'm sending you?"

An ear-splitting screech of metal scraping across metal blasted from their earpieces and the next few seconds was spent trying to normalise their hearing. There was no acknowledgement but the next words sent shivers down everyone's spines.

"Something bad is about to happen."

TBC…


	18. 17: Roar of Hell

AN: I don't own the trademarks used in this chapter…which should be pretty obvious.

Chapter Seventeen: Roar of Hell

He really hated when he was right.

Moments after the words had spilled out of his lips; Jabarkas had stepped back from the fight and had mumbled something about something being completed before vanishing in a burst of flames. Weihan could see the light pulsing from the other side of the greenhouse and quickly made his way to the site, hoping he wasn't too late. Racing around a corner, he skidded to a halt as his mind processed the strange creature in front of him. Although it had come down with Jabarkas, it was still on Earth and looked like a viable threat. Taking his eyes off the creature to look at the glowing sphere, he swallowed hard and looked at the message that had flashed on his HUD.

[Energy wave is a Time Dilation spell created to speed up the gestation period of a creature hibernating in a Time Delay spell. Estimate time of release: fifty seconds.]

However, that had been a good thirty or so seconds ago. Dismissing the Raptor Sabre, he changed the Laser Blade back into the Blaster mode and took careful aim at the mechanical beast. If he could force the creature away from the object, there was a good chance that they could somehow sway the monster over to the side of the Rangers; although he wasn't really sure how he would explain a monster following him around. Allowing the internal generator to spin for a few, precious, seconds, he pulled back the trigger and sent a large burst of energy slicing through the air. He held his breath as it impacted against the neck of the creature and engulfed its head in a cloud of fire.

"Is that all?"

He swallowed hard and allowed the Crystal Rangers to gather around him. Casting an eye on the damage to their armour, he noted that the armour repair systems would need ZARS integration to keep up with the other Rangers. He would get right on that…provided they survived the battle ahead of them. He had absolutely no idea what the strange spherical thing contained, but if it was about to spew out some deadly spell or monster or whatever, they would have to be prepared. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the dark around them was temporarily lit up with the teleportation streaks of Rachelle and Will. The lights flickered on and the assembled mass of Ranger waited for the creature and the sphere to make the next move.

"Pathetic Rangers, I expected more from those who gave my Master so much trouble. Not that it matters as it will take a miracle for you to escape alive! Remember the name Yit, as I open the door to your destruction…Hellroar!"

As the cybernetic warrior vanished in a flash of light, Weihan committed the name of the creature to memory and turned to the sphere. To his horror, it was slowly cracking open and leaking out a pale green liquid that both burnt and froze the ground below. Stowing his Raptor Laser, he brought out his Raptor Sabre and scanned the spherical object once more. The message that popped up on his visor didn't fill him with a lot of confidence, but there seemed to be a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

[Massive energy surge recorded from within. 90% chance of the resulting product being extremely dangerous. 15% chance for destruction by small-arms fire. Chance for Ranger survival: 65%]

So, whatever it would be was highly dangerous and had a slight chance of being nuked by a wayward blaster shot. Relaying the information to the others, he could almost feel them rolling their eyes at the new information. With three Ultra Rangers and three Crystal Rangers, he felt confident that they could easily destroy the creature in front of them no matter how strong it was. After all, he could just whip out the Battlizer if they were on the verge of defeat. Plus, with three Ultra Rangers, they could fight in the three different armour modes available to them and, hopefully, the Crystal Rangers would have theirs unlocked. And if the Battlizer came out, he would have the mouthful-to-say Zord added to his arsenal – which was always a good thing.

"Here it comes…"

The sphere seemed to breathe once before it exploded from within. Weihan stepped in front of the Rangers, ready to deflect any solid chunks of matter but the segments vanished into the air. The area where the sphere had emerged from was shrouded in a thick fog, but something was moving from within the clouds. A warning popped up on his HUD and the words were just starting to sink into his mind when the attack happened. A wide band of energy lanced out of the fog and smashed into all six Rangers, throwing them back violently into various poles, lights and trees. Weihan slammed into the ground painfully and picked himself up off the ground as much as he could, noting with some amusement that he was very close to the area that Xonix had been defeated. Quickly initiating a thorough scan of the area, he was unsurprised to see there were no traces of magic or anything that held an answer as to where the evil Lord had vanished to. Sensing movement behind him, he spun around and slashed his blade down…only to have it caught in the grasp of the thing that had emerged.

To the eyes of the Ranger that had seen all of the 'delights' of Hell, the monster in front of him immediately brought him back to the battle with Grash'Nak. It looked vaguely canine in shape with skin that reminded him of the dry and parched ground in the outback. Its three eyes gleamed with animalistic intelligence and malice and long strings of viscous drool dripped over its serrated teeth. The hand that gripped his weapon was rather disturbingly humanoid but with four fingers, each finger tipped with a blood-red claw. The Orange Ranger didn't see a tail coming out of its back, but knew that there were other surprises it had in store for them. Tapping the button on the handle to convert the blade into its firebrand mode, the Ranger swung the weapon toward the monster and sliced diagonally up from the bottom left to upper right. The creature dove out of the way but, as he had anticipated that move, he thrust his Sabre at the chest of the creature. The blade penetrated the skin and sunk deep into the monster, drawing a trickle of blood that seemed to suck all colour out of the surrounding areas. Swallowing uncertainly, he wrenched the blade out and flung a charged fireball at the creature, hanging back to see what would happen.

"Can't hurt me with that…"

The voice was low and growling, reminiscent of the sound produced by a very angry and annoyed Rottweiler. The flames cleared to reveal the creature hadn't been hurt by the flames at all…which he belatedly realised made some degree of sense. Yit had called the beast Hellroar, which probably meant that fire, flames and the like wouldn't have any effect. Rolling his eyes slightly, he caught a flash of White and Silver behind the monster and tried to keep its attention on him for as long as he could. The sounds of energy impacting flesh informed him that they were engaging the creature and he had to do Crystal Ranger damage control…wherever they were. Activating the Battle Radar, he followed the signals until he found where the Crystal Rangers had fallen. Rather, where they were practically being mobbed by the news reporters that had shown up out of nowhere.

"What the fuck is going on here?"

The news crews turned to him and he suppressed a smile as the Crystal Rangers turned towards him, their body language screaming out their uncertainty and relative innocence of the situation. His eyes scanned the crowd but he stopped himself as the face he was subconsciously searching for wasn't there. What surprised him the most was the diversity of the logos he saw on the microphones; from CNN to BBC, NBC to the familiar Channel 7. Shaking his head, he stepped in front of the Crystal Rangers and spoke in a relatively calm tone that was obviously forced.

"I can tell you all have questions, but this is a live battle zone."

To punctuate his point, there was an explosion behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he could see Will firing blasts with the Allosaur Pulsar, while Rachelle tried to score hits and smashes with the Ankylo Hammer. They were buying him time to get the Crystal Rangers back into the battle, but he had to deal with the press first…as excruciating as it was. He turned to the three Crystal Rangers and wished that he had briefed them previously. At least he knew that, whenever she watched it, AJ would get a kick out of it.

"Girls, a concentrated blast of energy at its weak spot should destroy it. Use your Crystal Blasters and target the open wound in its torso. You deal with that monster…and I'll deal with these guys."

Liz nodded once and turned around with a flourish. She had no idea where all the press had come from and, if she didn't know better, she would have through they had teleportation technology of their own. Behind her, she heard Weihan address the crowd but the words were lost in the rush of battle. Dropping her left hand to her belt, she pulled out the white and red blaster and glanced down at it. It was shaped very similarly to Weihan's Raptor Laser and it looked like it could transform into a melee mode the same way. Waiting for a moment for the power generator in the weapon to connect with the Crystal Coin in her Morpher, she readied herself to deliver the final blow as they came closer to the fight.

"You fools cannot stop me, I have been infused with Xonix's magic and there is nothing that can destroy me now!"

"We'll see about that…"

Muttering the words under her breath, Liz stopped a few feet away from the battle and dropped onto one knee, her Crystal Blaster held in a slightly modified Weaver Stance. Next to her, both Bec and Jorja fell into the same stances and a low hum came from the weapons as their blasters began charging. She could see the White Ultra Ranger blast the legs of the monster, which allowed Weihan's girlfriend to slam her Hammer into them – breaking the bones with a resounding crack. As the creature wailed in pain and collapsed on the ground, she nodded at the confirmation message that popped up on the HUD and waited for the perfect moment. This was their first real battle against a monster and, although they hadn't been the ones to start the battle, they would finish it. As Hellroar pushed itself off the ground with its arms, she yelled out one word to start the assault.

"_Fire_!"

TBC…


	19. 18: Continuing Madness

Chapter Eighteen: Continuing Madness

So the first creature hadn't worked out.

Jabarkas slowly removed his fist from the dent in the stone wall and attempted to calm himself down. There was no way that he could quit only after two attempts, but his patience was wearing thin. Master Xonix was nowhere to be found and he knew that, without a victory of some kind, his position of leadership would be questioned. Not by Yit or even Twinlobe, but by the multitudes of monsters that would be congregating on them any rotation now. The only good thing he could think of was that most of them could be destroyed by a charged punch when they were just out of the transportation modules. For some reason, the manufacturer of the interstellar transportation modules thought it would be good if the traveller temporarily lost access to his/her/its advanced powers. Then again, the manufacturer was rumoured to be a Troobian…which explained everything.

The time dilation spell had worked and he had thanked Yit for stumbling across it in Rita's archives, but he had expressly forbidden the Sha'Kahr from entering the battlefield again. To his credit, Yit had accepted and had confessed that his brutal fighting strength had dulled somewhat since Xonix had taken him off the front lines. As Twinlobe had two pretty obvious targets on top of his head, there was little chance the Anishan would be setting 'foot' on the planet either. Shaking the small chunks of rock from his fist, he wandered over to the balcony and looked through the telescope that was inexplicably placed there. After spending a few moments trying to work the damned thing, he zoomed in on the site of the battle. As expected, the smoking crater of Hellroar was still there and would probably stop smouldering around halfway through the next day.

However, what he wasn't expecting was for the Orange Ranger to still be there with the Crystal Rangers. There was a slowly growing throng of reporters and news crews gathering around him, setting up lights for the 'best shot'. He was very tempted to attack the slowly growing press conference but stopped himself. Sending attacks during these conferences had always been Xonix's idea of keeping them on their toes but it had left a bad aftertaste in his mouth. The only time he had initiated an attack on a press conference had been shortly after the Wraith had been defeated and that was only to test the strength of the Orange Ranger. Even the cloning saga had been the idea of his Master…but that had all worked out in the end. He watched up until the start of the questions and then pulled himself away from the telescope.

The next monster wasn't due to 'hatch' for another few weeks but he would be paying a little visit to Lothor to ensure that he didn't interfere with his plans. He wholeheartedly doubted the Space Ninja would be trying anything anyway as he had gotten word that Lothor was trying things with brainwashed Evil Rangers. That wasn't going to turn out well no matter what way it was looked at, but he had to force himself to give him the benefit of a doubt. Best case scenario was the two Rangers breaking free of their brainwashing after they had destroyed whatever Ranger team they were up against. Sure, they would have to be placed under a spell of some kind to keep their mental psyches intact but that was a better solution than the worst case scenario. In that scenario, the 'Evil' Rangers would break free of their brainwashing and join up with the other Rangers, combine their Zords with the other Zords and create a Zord monstrosity that would strike fear into Lothor and his band. Statisticians in the Universe had calculated a point five three four percent possibility of that happening…which was pretty much an iron-clad guarantee in his books.

Still, it would be interesting to visit Lothor's ship before the 'shit hit the fan' as the humans liked to say. He doubted they would be moving outside Blue Bay Harbour anytime soon as he had heard another rumour going around that Lothor needed to use the Abyss of Evil for some reason. A tsunami of monsters…he suppressed a shudder as he flashed back to the assault on Sydney that had happened a few years ago and the Ranger Army that had been called in to deal with it. Whereas a team of three or five Rangers would have a hard time containing the flow and would probably be wiped out within minutes, even if it spilled out a micron over the Blue Bay Harbour border – every Power Ranger in America would be cleaning up that mess within seconds. While it would be fun to watch Lothor melt down slowly, he did not want to face down another Army of Rangers for a while. Doing so would probably end up bad for him…if not worse for Lothor. Escaping into space also wasn't an option as the Astro Rangers still had access to their Delta Megaship and those damned Voyager Machines of theirs. Oh well, it would be something to think about for another time.

However, there still was the problem of what to do with the Rangers. No attack during the few weeks was an option, but it would look like he was either giving up or planning for something big. Sporadic attacks by Golems and Fiends were also an option, but it would still look like there was something larger on the horizon. He threw up his hands in frustration and rubbed a palm down his face. Doing nothing was suspicious and doing something would be even more so…and knowing the precise location of the next Time Delayed monster was even more frustrating than the above. He paused and thought about the location as the other locations had been clouded or maddeningly vague…yet the second monster had extremely precise details surrounding it. His Master had also inferred that something important would revolve around the monster's release, although if it was good or bad for them wasn't stated. Jabarkas walked to the balcony once again and looked out over the bleak landscape of the moon and sighed.

There was nothing left to do but wait.

TBC…


	20. 19: Revealed

AN: Dialogue heavy chapter…and something at the end…

Chapter Nineteen: Revealed

He was seriously hoping for another monster attack.

Ten minutes after the explosion had signalled the destruction of the monster and he was still standing in the Botanical Gardens. The only differences were that the area was brightly lit due to the news crews bringing in their lights and, as always, there was a lectern hastily assembled in front of him for any notes he may have had. While it was true that it was the thought that counted, the suggestion that he would have had notes prepared for an impromptu press conference was a bit laughable. He had subtly waved off both Rachelle and Will but had motioned for the Crystal Rangers to stay on site. Through the subvocalisation system, he had told them that he would be doing the majority of the talking and that, while they may be asked to state their Ranger designations, they would have to keep quiet for the duration. The three girls had agreed and he could tell they were slightly amused at his irritation with the press. Messages from the Ultra Cavern also conveyed the amusement of Rachelle, Bree and Phoebe as they wondered what was going to be discussed. As the murmurings from the crowd of press died down, he tapped the lectern once – half expecting it to crumble away – and cleared his throat.

"All right, are we ready? I'd thank you all for coming here but since you were all asking questions of my Rangers in a live battle zone, you obviously don't hold your lives in high regard or you're too scared of your bosses to speak up."

A nervous chuckle ran through the crowd and he knew he had hit the nail right on the head in the case of the latter option. He could only hope that one day; he wasn't so scared of his boss to speak up. Anyway, he doubted that would happen, as there was no way any company would want to subject themselves to constant attacks. He could tell that most of the reporters were dying to ask him about the whereabouts of the Ultra Rangers during the terror attacks, but he had literally no idea how to phrase his answer. He would try to stall for time first and tackle that rather sensitive subject at the end of the conference. As the noise from the crews trying to get better shots of the Crystal Rangers steadily grew, he held up a hand and spoke.

"I will say this only once. No, I will not be revealing any identities and if we are pressured to do so, we will either turn evil or abandon the planet."

In an instant, the news crews exploded with anger and frustrated yells started to come from the crowd. Scanning his eyes over the crowd; he saw that only one or two news crews, reporters and cameramen alike, were nodding as if they had expected that answer. Amusingly, they were from ABC Australia and Channel 7. He wondered what AJ had told her bosses, but knew he could ask her at any time thanks to their link. Someone from the crowd of reporters, a burly man with bulging muscles, stepped up and yelled at him.

"You can't abandon us! Who will fight for us?"

He rolled his eyes behind his helmet and attempted to stay calm. He had a feeling that his answer had been what everyone had been thinking, but they were afraid to actually vocalise it. He knew that there was a light at the end of this first section of 'tunnel' and that was the start of the questioning. However, he knew that to galvanise them past the shock of his response, they would need another of their fears confirmed…if the Zord battle the previous day hadn't confirmed it already. He nodded once and spoke, his tone firm.

"If you pressure us to reveal our identities, we will leave you to the 'mercy' of Xonix and his forces."

"So, you are confirming that Xonix was not destroyed in the battle two years ago? Oh, sorry, Angelina Jacobs of CNN."

Almost as if a switch had been flipped the tension of the crowd flickered and died, replaced with the slight coldness and detachment of the questions. Cameras that had been dropped during the outburst were picked up, recorders brought out and microphones switched on. Allowing a relieved smile to break out over his face for the briefest of moments, he recomposed himself and answered the question.

"No, Miss Jacobs, Xonix was not destroyed despite our efforts. He managed to slip away while grievously wounded and has spent the last two years in recovery. We do not know why the attacks have shifted focus from the CBD to the North Shore area but we suspect he is searching for something."

A murmur from the crowd rose up for a moment before dying down. The burly reporter from before cleared his throat uncomfortably and raised his hand; looking slightly embarrassed over his earlier outburst. At Weihan's nod, he coughed once and spoke up.

"Peter News from ABC, uh, ABC Australia. I doubt you know what he is searching for but will there be an increase in monster attacks during this time period?"

"I am unsure. However, I implore the public to run to the nearest Monster Shelter during an attack. I understand that there have been more traffic and surveillance cameras placed during the past two years and there may be some amateur monster hunters looking for a quick buck. To them, we ask that they stay away if they value their lives."

The crowd buzzed once more and the Orange Ranger shifted uncomfortably. The threat of monster hunters wandering into a battle zone for a quick thrill was a relatively recent development as camera phones became more and more widespread. As there had been no evils actively threatening, their intrusions in past battle sites had been seen as a minor annoyance but if they had to rescue the damned fools instead of defeating the monsters…well, there would be a stink raised for sure. He recalled the image Zordon had shown him of the battle in the building of some kind and seeing a person leaping out of the shadows at him. It was a sight that haunted his dreams more frequently than the images of the Evil Future.

Shaking himself out of his self-imposed funk, he pointed at a female reporter with blonde hair a shade darker than AJ's. No, upon closer inspection via his visor, her hair wasn't brown/blonde at all – rather it seemed to be a very pale pink. The shape of her eyes was familiar to him, even though he had never seen the woman in his entire life. Racking his mind to come up with a good comparison, hie eyes widened slightly as he thought of the light yellow Pegasus he had seen a few hours ago. He chuckled lightly as he realised he was looking at Fluttershy's dimensional counterpart, although there were traces of Pinkie in her as well.

"Andrea Slipman, Channel Ten. I'm…uh…wondering why you have chosen this period now to reveal or recruit new Rangers. I mean, there are twelve Ultra Rangers so why…"

"Why do we need more Rangers? You're asking the wrong person as I don't give out the Powers. They choose their Bearers and whatever time they choose to reveal themselves is their own."

He was aware that he had opened a can of worms with his answer. Ignoring the amused chuckles coming from the Rangers behind him and the onlookers in the Ultra Cavern, he suppressed a sigh and thought of a handy answer that would dispel most of the questions along this line of thought. Dimensional counterpart of Fluttershy or not, he didn't want to spill the secrets of the Rangers to anyone as that would have some…minor issues with the security of his Powers. Plus, he didn't want any questions being raised at Captain Mitchell as he had been re-reconnecting with Billy through subspace communication links.

"You make it sound like the Powers are alive or something."

"Not alive as you or I would be, but they have limited amounts of sentience. Plus, they're connected to both the Ultra and Morphin Grids and I couldn't even begin to describe them if I tried."

Another murmur ran through the crowd and they seemed to be satisfied with his answer. He had no doubt that more questions along that line would be raised in the future, but he would cross that bridge when it came. There were a lot of bridges in his future, but as long as he steered clear of office buildings he would be clear of any more nightmare-inducing sights.

"So, there are only three new Rangers in this team?"

He shook his head and listened to the shocked mumblings of the team. He knew Phoebe was waiting in the wings for her Crystal Coin and Ninjor was probably working on the outer shell of her Dinozord using whatever help he could scrounge up. Well, if Ninjor got the Zord completed then that was all that mattered. He wondered who would be the next Crystal Ranger to join up; if he was a betting man he would lay good odds on Daphne. The Brazilian student was having second thoughts about refusing the 'call' and hanging out with such staunch opposers. Well, it was something to worry about for another time.

He opened his mouth to speak but felt a strange tickle in the back of his mind. Opening up a small hole in his mental defences, he traced the link back to a familiar mind. He allowed a genuine smile to spread over his face as the image of her surroundings developed in his mind's eye. Thankfully, she was away from the Mayan death-trap temple and was looking at the 'live' broadcast of his conference. The slightly overweight British man he had seen before was lingering behind her and was speaking, although he couldn't really pick up the words. Sending a ripple of amusement her way, he saw her eyes widen slightly and a smile flash across her lips. Bringing himself back to the present moment, he spoke once more and hoped his tone was firm.

"No. There will be seven new Rangers altogether but we are still working out the details on recruiting the others. Rest assured that by the end of the year, you will have a brand new team of Rangers protecting you."

Well, he hoped they would have a new team by the middle of the year. There were other matters that Zordon had showed him that still needed discovering, such as the strange Australian-Italian woman that he would be giving a Morpher to. He hoped that the press conference wouldn't be dragging on too long as he had a strange feeling something else would happen that night. It wasn't a bad feeling per se; rather a slight feeling of something finally coming to a head and being revealed. He hadn't the slightest idea what it was, but he would be prepared for the worst.

Aw, Sugarcube, you're doin' just fine. Keep calm and carry on, as they say.

"Ashleigh Nimmo, Al Jazeera. The last 'campaign' against Xonix saw no attacks made outside Australia. Can you make a guarantee to the people of the world that you will contain the attacks in Australia?"

He sighed in frustration as the mental link weakened. As AJ had initiated the link, she would have to be placing pretty much all of her concentration onto it to maintain the connection. However, he knew he had to stay in the present moment. A lapse of concentration could prove rather…problematic, though he did wonder where this news reporter had gotten her information from.

"First, let me correct you. There were a few attacks made outside Australia, namely in Angel Grove, Kuala Lumpur and even on Terra Venture. Xonix is not content to attack the area that the Ultra Rangers are in and he showed that in the past. We do not know where he will attack next until the attack occurs and, at the present time, do not have the means available to forcefully direct his monsters in transit. This means that I can issue no guarantees to the people of the world that there won't be attacks in the other countries."

The buzz died down and he took a small step back. The press conference was drawing to a swift conclusion, though he still wanted to say his piece. He had constructed what he thought was a good 'statement' of sorts and was waiting for the perfect moment. Maybe one of the reporters would ask him in a question or he would have to say it at the end of the 'show'.

"Are there any more questions before we finish? I doubt there will be any more attacks during press conferences so you don't have to worry about that. Uh, I think I have room for about one or two more questions."

The crowd went silent and, for a moment, he thought that there were no more questions. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to begin to thank them for assembling on short notice, when a hand shot up from the back of the crowd. At his nod, the crowd parted to reveal a young man with light brown hair. His horn-rimmed glasses sat high on the bridge of his nose and his voice was obviously forced into calmness.

"Christopher Hogan, Channel Seven. Now that she is no longer in Australia, could you please tell us what your relationship with Jacqui Apple was and if you still keep in contact with her?"

Concentrating on the mental link, he conjured up an image of AJ to gauge her reaction. There was a new individual that had entered the room and was sitting on a chair, watching the TV. This new person looked like he was in his late teens and he wore a white shirt with a red stripe around the middle. Curiously, when he 'looked' closer, he could hear the faint whirring of machinery coming from somewhere close by. Shaking his head slightly, he could see that the interview being broadcast was on a slight time delay and he could see the strange kid throw AJ a look as the question was asked. He sent a mental chuckle her way and gave the impression that he was rolling his eyes, which he was.

**Keep calm, eh?**

Two years…you would have thought it was old news by now. Your call, Sugarcube.

Chuckling once more under his breath, he cleared his throat once and spoke in a calm and clear voice.

"While we did have contact with Miss Apple during the first campaign, we were saddened to learn of her departure from the station. As she has not contacted us through any of the channels available to her, I believe she is happy distancing herself from the chaos of constant attacks."

The reporter nodded and looked like he wanted to say more, but relented. As he retreated back into the crowd, a tall man with slightly hawkish features stepped up without being called. There was an expression of solemn seriousness on his face and Weihan knew what he was going to say. Calling up the hastily constructed speech in his HUD, he nodded slowly to allow the man to speak.

"John Gill, New York Times. A lot of questions have been raised since the terror attacks in New York about the whereabouts of the Ultra Rangers. Although there have been statements from most of the available and semi-active Ranger teams on the planet, no such statement was ever released by the Ultra Rangers. Can you, the leader of the Rangers, finally shed some light as to why you stood on the sidelines, did nothing and did not release a statement after the attacks?"

You could have heard a pin drop. No one said a word and the aides that had been hanging behind the main crowd fell silent as well. Weihan took a step closer to the lectern, hoping it didn't fall away, and nodded slowly. Motioning for the others to stay back as well as sending a subvocal message for the others to stay in the Ultra Cavern, he coughed lightly and began speaking. His tone started off strong, but slowly hardened as he spoke.

"Yes, I can shed that light although the answer may not be the one you, your readers and the viewers at home may want to hear from us. We did not go to New York to help as we were off-planet at the time. A few days before the attacks, an urgent distress call was placed to us that originated from a planet on the far side of the Universe. As the message was heavily garbled and large parts were undecipherable due to static interference, I made the decision for all of the Ultra Rangers to investigate. Approximately ten thirty PM Australian Eastern Standard Time on September 10 2001, all twelve of us left to see what assistance we could provide. Bear in mind that, due to the International Date Line, it was approximately eight-thirty AM in New York and one full day before the attacks.

Our journey was…uneventful and we arrived at the location of the planet just in time to see it violently rip itself apart due to several energy fluctuations in its core. The lone survivor, the Planet Elder, said that almost all of the colonies on the surface had most likely perished in the final moments as its atmosphere had disintegrated. More than one billion individuals just snuffed out in an instant. He only survived as he had been stowed away by his family in a completely sealed environment, yet he could hear the sounds outside. He passed away soon after. We were searching for more survivors when the Red Zeo Ranger contacted us with the news. As the Lightspeed Rangers were already on their way, we thought it would be wise to stay away and not be in their way. Also, it would take more than a day to return. By that time, the towers had collapsed and the search for survivors was underway.

We chose to sit on the sidelines as we felt we were not needed. This may sound cold and unfeeling, but as the 9/11 attacks were not perpetrated by Xonix, Jabarkas or any evil forces orbiting the planet, we decided to leave this in the hands of the Power Rangers and the planet's authorities, namely the White House and George Bush. The first priority of the Ultra Rangers has always been the safety of the planet against attacks from external forces, not protecting from internal attacks. This has been done to prevent the governments of the world from using our power for their own personal gains. I am sorry for the loss of the families involved, but we will not allow our power to be used as a pawn for other purposes beside the protection of the planet."

The assembled crowd was silent in shock and he could 'see' AJ looking at the screen with a mixture of pride, horror and deep sorrow. Through their link, he knew she was imagining the violence that they had witnessed of a planet ripping itself apart and he knew that, no matter how vivid her imagination was, nothing imagined ever compared with the sheer scope of Chysannas' destruction. Sensing that it was time to leave, Weihan glanced over his shoulder and nodded once. Liz nodded back and the three Crystal Rangers teleported out, leaving him with the crowd of stunned news crews. He looked at the group and nodded once, hitting the teleporter on his wrist to teleport home. He needed a break before giving Phoebe her powers and debriefing the Crystal Rangers. Plus, watching the fallout from his statement would be pretty amusing. As his vision cleared, he looked around him at his surroundings. There didn't seem to be anyone home but he could 'feel' his double in his room. Touching his left wrist once, he allowed his armour to dissolve in a shower of sparks and rolled his shoulders.

That was when he heard something that confirmed what Zordon had shown him all those years ago; something that there would be no backing away from, no covering up and no smoothing over.

"Son?"

TBC…


	21. 20: The Talk

AN: The second 'Wham' chapter arrives. No more 'Whams' until…[Censored]

Chapter Twenty: The Talk

It couldn't happen like this.

He turned around slowly, hoping that what he had heard had been directed at his double…but, like all things, it wasn't the case. Standing at the top of the first flight of stairs was his mother, still dressed in her work clothes. Cursing himself for his foolishness at not teleporting directly to his room, he stretched out with his mind to see who else was home. Thankfully, he only sensed his mother's presence. He faced her and noted, for the first time, how shocked and confused she looked, emotions that shone through her voice.

"What was that just now?"

Sighing to himself, he ran a hand through his hair and sent a quick mental communication to Rachelle that something had come up and to show the Crystal Rangers, Phoebe and Bree around the Ultra Cavern. He had a strange feeling he would be explaining things to his mother for quite some time; that is, if she got over her shock sometime soon. If not…well, he would have to grant Phoebe her powers tomorrow. Why was it that almost everything remotely bad always seemed to happen to him?

"Mum, what did you see? What were you doing?"

Yin shook her head slowly as she walked down the stairs to stand face to face with the boy who looked like her son. She had dropped all suspicion that he was involved with the Rangers in some way as he had acted the same as he had before…but now, she wasn't so sure.

"I was upstairs watching the news conference the Orange Ranger was holding. You are, were, in your room doing your studying and I heard a crackle downstairs and I saw the Orange Ranger…and…and…"

He nodded his head, aware that teleportation was always associated with a slight crackling noise that sounded slightly electronic. Placing a hand on her right arm, he gently led her to the living room and guided her onto the leather sofa. Any second now, she would be snapping out of her shock and proclaiming he wasn't her son. Of course, he had a plan for that as well. Kneeling down in front of his mother, he waited for her eyes to lock with his and spoke, taking great care to ensure his tone was soft and steady.

"Mum, sit down. I have to tell you something and, while you may not believe it at first, it is the complete and honest truth."

The words struck a familiar chord in Yin's mind and she searched for where she had heard them before. Ah, that was it; she had heard those words from the blonde reporter that had grown extremely close to her son. Of course, there was a strange feeling growing in her gut that the blonde had known when they talked last…

"Jacqui…those words came from her as well. Does she know?"

"I'll come to that in a moment. First, sit down and..."

Yin shrank back from the person in front of her. Now she knew that whoever this beast was, he wasn't her son. She saw his shoulders sag and heard a sigh escape from his lips. She just wished she wasn't so far from the phone. Maybe if she screamed, her real son would come down…that was it! She would call Weihan down from his room and expose the doppelganger for the monster he was!

"No! You're not my son! Weihan! Come down here please!"

Her voice echoed through the house and Weihan fought the urge to roll his eyes. He heard his duplicate come out of his room and begin to come down the stairs. Holding tightly to his mental link with AJ, he could feel her amusement at the strange twist of fate he had found himself caught up in. If he concentrated hard enough, he could almost hear the news report on the TV ane replay of his statement about their whereabouts on 9/11. He was sure Emma would begin her defrosting soon, but if Tara joined up first…he shook his head slightly as he heard his double speak and stop in surprise as he saw him.

"Hi Mum, what's…ah. Oh. Everything all right with the four of them?"

He stood up slowly and shook his head. Stepping towards the duplicate, he placed his hand on the right shoulder and saw his double shudder once. A bright flash of light lit up the area and his double was reabsorbed back into his body. He hoped that the doubles of the three girls were still fine; otherwise there would be Hell to pay when they returned home. However, as he sifted through the memories, he found that they had informed their parents that they would be having a small study group with a few other people after class. Even though it was the first week, there was still a lot of information. Shaking his mind free of those thoughts, he could see the horror slowly spreading across his mother's face and waited for the inevitable outburst.

"What…what did you do to my son you impostor!"

He shook his head and looked up at the ceiling, willing himself to stay calm. The only good thing he could think of was that Jabarkas wouldn't be able to spy on him and add another target to his hit list. It was fortunate that he had the foresight to reapply the protection wards a few months back. Of course, he had spent a few more minutes ensuring that there wouldn't be as much residue as last time but it was worth it for the added protection from scrying.

"Mum, calm down. I can make duplicates of myself at will! It's the reason why you didn't get calls about my absences from class every day. Just watch."

Relaxing his body, he closed his eyes and imagined himself in front of him. A gasp of surprise and awe ripped itself from his mother and he knew it was successful. Well, this was the first time he had tried it so soon after reabsorbing another double and he wasn't so sure how long the cooling off period would be. Opening his eyes, he nodded at his duplicate and sent it upstairs to continue studying. He sighed to himself as his mother's voice sounded from behind him.

"I don't believe it…when?"

Knowing that the easy part was well and truly over and that his mother was beginning to believe this wasn't some sort of elaborate prank he was pulling, he crouched down in front of her and began speaking. There were some things that he wouldn't speak to her about as they were things that would both worry and freak her out. He decided to skip the history of the Ultra Crystals and their creation as it would confuse her.

"Around the middle of July 1998, I was given an opportunity to become the Orange Ultra Ranger. Well, not really given the opportunity as much as I was chosen specifically. I'm not sure why either. My first battle was about an hour or so after I received the Power."

Yin cast her mind back to those images she had seen on the news after returning from work. Images of the strange new Ranger and his destruction of the giant monster that had defeated the Power Rangers flashed to the forefront of her mind. She remembered her son looking slightly unsettled, apparently at the brutal destruction of the monster but now realised it had more to do with the disparaging comments that were being made by the reporters. If he had been a Ranger then…she shook her mead mentally and pushed those thoughts away. She would hear the story from her son before she asked those questions.

"The Ogre battle…right? We saw it on the news that night and I remember how uncomfortable you looked at the news report."

Her son nodded and she wondered why she hadn't the foresight to confront him about it during the past two years. Mentally shaking her head once more, she told herself it wouldn't make any differences. The least she could do was to hear the story from beginning to end, even though she knew he had to be elsewhere.

"Yeah…that was when I was still trying to work everything out in my mind. That night, I discovered another one of my abilities and I experimented with it on my night walk."

"The scorched trees in the park…"

"Yes, that was me. Well, me trying to control what I could do. Not every day you're granted the opportunity to create fire from your hands with the flick of the wrist."

Allowing a small smile to flicker over her face, she leant back in the leather and sighed. Her mind was beginning to hurt from all the information she was receiving, but she knew he was explaining it in a very condensed version. She didn't know if she had the fortitude to sit through extremely detailed explanations of the past battles.

"And the duplicates?"

"I discovered I could create them on the night Xonix revealed himself. I think you picked up on the mood change. Those are the feelings I picked up from when I reabsorbed my double anyway"

She nodded and saw him nod back. She had picked up on the slight mood and body language shift, but hadn't thought much of it before. She was practically kicking herself over it now…but there was nothing that could be done. Allowing the breath in her lungs to expel in one long whoosh, she placed a hand over her eyes and rubbed her temples.

"All this time…the attacks in the school, the death of your friend and in Pitt Street Mall when the Rangers were taken…I can't believe I didn't pick it up sooner. I thought you seemed slightly happier at school but then, on that one day, you came home with such a dark and sad look on your face and refused to answer any questions."

He knew she would bring that up. It was such a defining point in his life and Ranger career; she would have been stupid not to bring it up. Yet, he knew that she couldn't learn the truth about that as it would send her into sleepless nights. The Evil Future and his death would be the things that he would fight tooth and nail to keep from reaching her. Well…that and the time spent under Love Tick's spell. Mother or not, there was not real delicate way you could tell someone about being involved in a long orgy with colourful ponies, not without sounding like a total nutcase anyway. He shook his head firmly.

"I'm still not ready to talk about that incident just yet. It cemented the notion in my mind that I needed a team of Rangers or else…or else I wasn't going to get anywhere. Before you ask, I won't tell you the identities of the others. It's not safe for you to know."

Somehow, she expected that from him. There were so many secrets that her son wasn't telling her and, although she knew it was mostly for the best, she was worried about him taking so many things on himself. It wasn't healthy but…well, life always found a way.

"Your group of friends…but you didn't always hang out with them at the start."

Weihan nodded, finally seeing the lights start to flicker on in her eyes. Too much information would be overwhelming and too little would leave her wanting more. He hoped he could count on her to not go off on wild goose chases on her own as it would raise many questions as to why the Orange Ranger was saving a seemingly random Asian woman. Nodding at the mental message he received from Rachelle about the 'guided tour' of the Ultra Cavern coming to an end, he sent a message back to show them clips of the past battles and show them how the Simul-Deck worked.

"And the Rangers in the past were you and your Black Ranger? But you would have been around seven and you wouldn't have gotten your powers yet…"

"That's a longer story. Plus, the strange pony Rangers you may have heard rumours about? They are real but that's a story for another time. All right…where are we? Past the duplicates, past Apollonia, past…that…"

He actually had to think about the progression of his early battles. Everything pretty much mashed together in a Ranger-coloured battle scene with many monsters lumped together…or maybe he was thinking of the 'Final' Battle with Xonix or Zedd. His musing was cut short by the voice of his mother.

"The attack on the swimming carnival? What was that all about?"

"That was the first attack of the Ultra Psycho Rangers. Psychogre, Lustor, Arachno, Creeper and others…the most challenging battles we have ever faced. As a united front, they were unbeatable but when they attacked one-on-one, they were defeated. They cemented in us that we had to battle as a united group and not a handful of individuals. It's actually a good thing there are twelve of us, as we can split into two groups of six to handle things. I don't know if that'll change now though…we're all so spread out."

"And the bright flash of light a few months after?"

He paused and swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat. Although he had 'spoken' to him in the battle, the subject of Zordon was always going to be a tricky one to broach. His voice dropped and he stumbled over the first words, but he forced himself to continue.

"That…that was the death of the mentor of the Power Rangers. He was there to help me in the early days and he spoke to me about my facial twitching. Apparently, it's due to no one being exposed to so much Grid Energy at once. As my Crystal is stronger than the others, it provides a more direct link to the Universal Morphin Grid."

He wondered what the ancient sage would think about him revealing his identity to his mother and what he would say if he was still on the physical plane. As the Ultra Rangers were not constrained by any rules, he would think the ancient Master would understand…and yet, he desperately wanted to know how he would have reacted. Biting back a frustrated sigh, he resigned himself to never being able to close the door on that one issue. It wasn't as if he would magically gain the ability to go back in time outside of the Chronos Zord and, even then, it would be tricky to not change anything. Seemingly oblivious to the internal storm he was feeling, his mother continued in a slowly stabling voice.

"And when you went to Terra Venture and the Ultra Rangers were there…that was you, wasn't it? And the battle afterwards…something bad happened in that one. Xonix came down; at least I think it was him. And he was with the other reptilian monster and the picture went fuzzy for a few minutes and the Rangers were all acting like something terrible had happened."

"You don't need to know about that. It's in the past now and we won the battle anyway."

Yin nodded slowly. It was extremely obvious that there were some things that weren't meant to be touched, even for her. She briefly wondered what it could be and if a death was involved, yet it couldn't be. Her son was alive and well in front of her, his friends were all alright and she hadn't heard of news of any people keeling over and dying on the news. She had recalled that for days after the battle, her son had been uncharacteristically happy at everything he had done, but offered no explanation as to the root cause of the sudden mood shift. She thought it was just happiness after a Ranger victory but, now, she wondered if there was something else behind it.

"And then nothing happened for months after that and I thought everything was back to normal…and then the massive attack on the city happened. You were there in the thick of it, weren't you?"

At his nod, her heart clenched a fraction and she braced herself for stories of the battle, even though she knew she was being silly.

"Yeah, I was. It was hairy at the end but we managed to pull through somehow. It was a good thing AJ left when she did. If she had been a minute or two later…"

Knowing that the last big battle wasn't something that he would care to relive, she moved on to her closing questions. Her son had new priorities now, things that didn't involve her or the family and, more than likely, never would. He had distanced himself from the family politics and abstract musings to take on a task that would literally change the world.

"Whose idea was it for the two of you to split up?"

"Hers and she also wanted to distance herself from the craziness here. Being in a relationship with a Ranger isn't always easy but there are two Rangers in relationships with non-Rangers so I guess there's a happy medium somewhere in the middle."

Weihan knew she was losing steam. The questions were coming at a slower pace and she looked more and more understanding. She was still slightly freaked out at everything, which was normal…but she was dealing with it a lot better than he would have given her credit for. Silently thanking whatever force had made him teleport into the foyer instead of his room, he crossed the talk off his mental checklist and exhaled slowly. The granting of the Power to Phoebe would probably take no more than an hour at most and after that…well, he would more than likely crash in the nearest bed and not wake for a while. Her mother cleared her throat lightly and he looked at her.

"And now what? The attacks are starting up again…and who are the four?"

"Something you don't need to worry about."

He stood up, hearing his knee pop, and stretched his arms up above his head. The past day had crawled by extremely slowly, apart from the battles, and he was ready to do whatever it took for him to get at least a decent amount of sleep. The first class of the next day was food service and he silently groaned to himself. At least, judging from what his double had heard, the lecturer was very easy on the eyes and always picked out one student in the class to be her 'right hand', constantly flirting and everything. Waiting a few more seconds, he looked around, unsure as to how to end the conversation. He just hoped the neighbours didn't hear the shouts at the start. His mother opened her mouth once more and began speaking, her words coming out slowly and haltingly.

"Son, I…I've never said this before; but I'm proud of you. Taking on such a big task on your own and moulding it to fit you is something you were always good at. I won't pretend I know half of what is going on, but if you're out there…I'm still trying to wrap my mind around it. I'll support you whatever way I can."

He felt his heart swell with pleasure at those words, things that he had never thought would be heard directed at him. Swallowing the lump that had formed over the one that had formed from talking about Zordon…and wondering why his mind thought like Pinkie, he smiled back.

"Thanks Mum. I'll always be your son, but a duplicate will be here to keep you company when I have to be away. It's just to keep up appearances. There are some things I have to take care of now but I'll be home as soon as I can."

"I know son. Just do your best."

He turned around and lifted his left wrist, preparing to teleport to the Ultra Cavern. Despite the drama in the beginning, his mother had actually handled it better than most parents would have and he started wondering if it would be right for the others to reveal their identities to their parents as well. He shook his head, pushing those thoughts away with a heavy heart as not all parents, or adults, would see much need for the secret to be kept. They would only see the means for a quick buck and forever alienate their kids from them. Stopping himself mid-press, he glanced over his shoulder to look at his mother.

She was still there, still on the couch with a proud and slightly dazed look in her eyes. She would be all right, but there was one thing that needed to be asked. He doubted very much that she would spill his identity to anyone but he guessed, if she had a minor slip-up, he could perfect the memory spells and clean up those messes.

"Mum, I don't think I need to ask this but…"

Her answer brought a calm and peace to his mind that hadn't been present before. As he initiated the teleport, her words echoed in his ears.

"Your secret is safe with me."

TBC…


	22. 21: Gem Polishing

Chapter Twenty One: Gem Polishing

"You told her?"

Weihan winced slightly as her voice reached an extremely high pitch. He nodded and wondered exactly how a simple task like granting Phoebe her powers had eventuated into trying to save his eardrums from Rachelle's screech. It wasn't that much of a big deal anyway as it would happen eventually, they weren't so careful when teleporting home anyway. Plus, there were no rules regarding the revelation of identity to family and loved ones and it had been done in a relatively secured environment. Also he hadn't divulged the identities of the others…though his mother could probably figure out the colours by looking at his group of friends. He knew his mother would be worried about him, as he hadn't told her the whole truths, but she would slowly begin to get over the apprehension and appreciate his efforts. Well, up until he had to get an actual job sometime in the far off future.

"It's not like I had a choice, she saw me demorphing and then she called down my duplicate. What was I supposed to do? Act like she was having a bad LSD trip?"

She opened her mouth a few times and sighed. Technically, she knew there was nothing else that could have been done as there weren't any rules tying them down. They had followed the rules anyway as Earth wasn't really ready to understand that its defenders had been 'mere' high-schoolers. Thanks to an early slip of the tongue by Jabarkas, they had been 'revealed' as humans and she had heard many interesting theories over the years as to the 'faces' under the helmets. Fixing her boyfriend what the weariest gaze she could muster, she giggled as he rolled his eyes and looked at the quintet looking at them with interest. Will had left the Main Area as soon as Weihan had teleported in, but was probably working on the internals of his Zord.

"Phoebe Tyker, please step forward."

As the girl stepped forward, Weihan eased his Ultra Crystal out of his chest. As if it were reacting to Phoebe's presence, a Crystal Coin slid out of its depths. Moving his Crystal away from the Coin, he watched it slowly spin in the air and gravitate towards Phoebe. He had a strange feeling that, if left unchecked, the Crystal Coin would orbit the blonde girl until she plucked it from the air. He saw a mild longing in her eyes as she slowly extended her hand to the Coin. As her fingers brushed the surface, the Coin seemed to change colour – becoming slightly lighter and a more translucent pink. The Crystal that Phoebe would be getting her power from would be the Pink Garnet; a rather odd choice but, as there were not many pink gemstones, it wasn't as if she would have had many other choices anyway.

"By extending your hand to accept this Crystal Coin, you accept the responsibility of defending the world with aid of your fellow Rangers. You will become the Pink Garnet Pterodactyl Crystal Ranger…which is a bit of a mouthful to say. Well, more so than Black/Green Ultra Ranger anyway."

A ripple of laughter came from the watching Rangers while Phoebe kept her eyes locked on the spinning Coin. She looked at the smiling faces around her and braced herself for…something. She had made her decision and there wasn't any backing down now. Just brushing her fingers across the Coin's surface had opened her mind up to a wealth of information, strategies and tactics that hadn't been there before. Strange faces flashed through her mind for the barest of instants and she furrowed her braw slightly at six of them. Surely the Power had been wrong and there weren't ponies who were Rangers…but Weihan's magic double had talked about somewhere called Equestria. Such a name would mean that only ponies lived there but she had her doubts.

There had been other feelings transferred as well. She could sense there was something on the horizon that was coming. For the life of her, she didn't know what it was, but the negative vibes it put out was enough to make her stomach clench and churn. Without her assistance, the others could probably deal with it but it would take slightly longer…and would involve a great deal more property damage. How she could ever hope to fight with no former training was beyond her, though she knew that the others would ensure that she was up to speed before allowing her onto the battlefield. Or maybe they would just throw her into the deep end and hope for the best. Her arm lifted on its own and she felt her fingers close around the Crystal Coin that had stopped spinning some time ago.

A bright pink flash obscured her vision and she instinctively closed her eyes. Opening them after a few moments, a wealth of information assaulted her from the strangely tinted screen in front of her. No, it wasn't a screen but the full face visor of her helmet. It also wasn't tinted but it had slightly darkened to compensate the flashes of light coming off her body as her armour materialised. Allowing the transformation to complete, she looked at the image of herself in her HUD and marvelled at the design. Years ago, she had seen the Pink Morphin Ranger in action on the news and had always wanted to be like her. She had imagined what the person under the helmet would have looked like and what she would have done in her spare time. When the Olympics rolled around, she imagined that the world-famous gymnast Kim Hart as the person under the mask…but that was impossible as a world-famous athlete couldn't always be rushing off to save the world.

The helmet looked the same as the Pink Ultra Ranger's, only slightly less detailed and had designs similar to a faceted gem studded around the sides. Near the bottom of the visor were the same silver triangles she had seen on the three Crystal Rangers. Her armour was coloured in a strange shade of pink that seemed to alternate from dark to light depending on the angle of the light. The Crystal Blaster hung on her left hip and the gloves were still spattered with the red. She smiled under her helmet as she felt the power rushing over her body. If she had to compare it to anything, she would have said it was almost like a rolling orgasm of sorts. The effect would probably die down for subsequent morphs as she doubted Weihan would want his Rangers rolling on the ground in almost orgasm. Of course, she could be wrong. She looked up at the boy in question and felt her face flush as he smiled at her.

"Welcome to the ranks of the Rangers, Phoebe."

Applause broke out from the watching Crystal Rangers, Ultra Rangers and Bree. Phoebe lifted her hands to the sides of her helmet, feeling for the latches her HUD told her were there. Popping the latches, she slid the helmet over her head and looked at herself with her 'naked' eyes. There seemed to be no aesthetic differences except…

"How come she gets a skirt and we don't?"

Weihan ran his eyes over Phoebe's morphed form once more and snorted back laughter. Around the waist of the Garnet Crystal Ranger was a skirt that was extremely similar to the ones on Heather and Kim. Now that he thought about it, only the Pink Rangers ever had the skirt for some unexplained reason as the other Crystal and Ultra Rangers didn't have skirts. Shrugging it off as an interesting feature, he opened his mouth to reply when he began to wonder just what was underneath said skirt. To the best of his knowledge, the skirt would just be a bit of fabric over the bodysuit, but he had heard a rumour that the skirt of the Blue Ranger in that new Ranger team had…and he needed to stop this train of thought right now.

"Asking the wrong person about that, Bec. Liz can see to your training and I'll be nearby in case another…uh…incident happens."

Turning away from the quartet in case his mind decided to take another swan dive into the gutter, he heard the soft click of Phoebe's helmet being replaced and the sight crackle of a 'flash' morph. Shaking his head in an attempt to postpone the inevitable descent into hormone-fuelled madness, he looked up at Rachelle and Bree. Both girls were fixing him with amused stares and he wondered if his thoughts were really that transparent. Running a hand through his hair, he sat down on one of the chairs behind the Scanning Station and looked at his watch, groaning slightly. It was only around seven thirty, but he felt like it was much later…which was understandable considering the wringer he had been put through. Sensing his tiredness, Rachelle walked over to him and dropped onto his lap, noting how his body reacted under her. She opened her mouth to ask the question that she had been wondering about since the events of the past day.

"So what now? What happens to the Ultra Rangers now that the Crystal Rangers are active?"

Opening his eyes and looking at the girl on his chest, Weihan sighed. With the Ultra Rangers scattered around Sydney, their continued rushing in to always save the day would be restricted by their schedules. Of course, they could always create magical duplicates of themselves, but he wanted the option of them not stepping in to be open. He had always thought that if another Ranger team came onto the scene, the Ultra Rangers would be 'retired'. Then again, judging from Tommy, Kim and what they had gotten themselves wrapped up in, no Ranger ever truly retired. He had a strange feeling he would be helping Tommy out in the future and, as most things were with the Red Zeo Ranger, he knew it would be monster-related. This meant he had to do another check of the Ultra Zeo Zords and dust off his investigations of tracking down the Red Battlezord. He doubted it was inside the Red Subcrystal, but on the other hand, Tommy wouldn't know where to look even if he tried. Letting out a soft sigh, he responded to the question as best as his tired mind would allow.

"I don't know. I can't take any of your powers away but, on the other hand, I can't keep calling you guys in for every battle. The Crystal Rangers need to be complete before I can give the order for the Ultra Rangers to go on standby but…"

He trailed off as the strange feeling of foreboding washed through him. He knew something was coming but he didn't know what it was. The door to Equestria was pretty much always open and he hadn't felt strange while battling the not-Golems. Of course, there was the extremely low chance that Xonix had been transported there but given the damaged state he had been in at the end of their battle…well, he was either dead or in a deep coma. He also doubted his Mum or Emma was going to spill their identities at any point in the future. Emma may have held a grudge against them for being Rangers, but he hoped she was smart enough to keep her knowledge to herself.

"I don't know…I think something big is coming up. We'll need every member available to help and that means getting the Crystals fully united. I hope I'm just being paranoid."

Rachelle didn't think he was being paranoid. She had felt flashes of…something undecipherable, but she was always left with a feeling of pure and utter dread. The knowledge that she wasn't alone in her feelings came as some small relief, but also proved to worsen the feeling in her gut. She wondered if her mother would worry less about her if she told her what she had been doing in her spare time. There had been suspicions, but…no, her mother would just become very stressed and worried for her safety. Lots of worry would also be directed at her mental health…but there was nothing much that the doctors could do about that. Descriptions of monsters and planets ripping apart would become very suspicious as the Orange Ranger had just explained their whereabouts during 9/11.

"And our identities? Did you want us to tell our parents and loved ones?"

"Hey, I didn't really have a choice in the matter. It's really up to you if you feel they can handle it."

He smirked to himself as she laid her head on his chest. Flicking an eye to the quartet of Rangers that were still training, he wondered what the immediate future would have in store for them. Jabarkas wasn't going to surrender just because two of his monsters had failed and he probably knew where and when the other monsters would break free as well. Also, the alien had said he had been wandering the stars for the past two years which he took to mean that he was gathering up more monsters to throw at them. Placing his hands on the blonde's back, he sighed slowly and wondered what the future would hold.

And if they would survive intact.

TBC…


	23. 22: The Second Seal

Chapter Twenty Two: The Second Seal

Something bad was about to happen.

Sitting in a corner, he took a sip of his Coke and tried to relax. The past few weeks had gone by with hardly any incidents, not counting a surreal Golem fight in the middle of a gardening centre. His mother hadn't let him forget his impromptu wielding of a nearby fountain against a Golem…and neither had the newspapers. Emma and Tara had laughed their asses off, but the prospective Red Ranger had privately asked him if every battle would be like that. At his negative reply, she had nodded and seemed to be deep in thought about something and had distanced herself from Emma somewhat. That had confused the Hell out of the Asian, but it appeared as she had dropped the issue. The battle had been made all the strange with the appearance of Alex, who had apparently been in the area to look for Rachel. The Black/Green Ranger hadn't been in the Ultra Cavern when Ninjor was there and Weihan wasn't going to tell him that his prospective girlfriend was in the middle of her training.

His old friend had juggled fighting the Golems with the Blizzard Axe and hitting on the new female Rangers, until a wayward fire blast from a Golem had splashed against the front of his Battle Armour…and all thoughts of wooing the new chicks had gone out the window. It seemed Alex had also refined his fighting with the Blizzard Axe, using it in conjunction with the Mammoth Buster that was pretty much permanently affixed to his other wrist. How the Ranger would combine his weapons into the Blizzard Blaster remained to be seen but, with Xonix gone, he doubted any of the monsters Jabarkas sent down would prove difficult.

Phoebe had taken to her new Powers like a duck to water and had even managed to summon her Crystal Weapon in less time than Liz. He wondered why the Power had chosen a repeating crossbow for her weapon, but had to admit it fit the Pink Ranger archer trend that had started with Kim. Amusingly, the former Pink Ranger was the role model of the Garnet Crystal Ranger and he was still trying to get her squeak of surprise out of his head when he had told her. Her new Zord had been delivered by Ninjor and, while it looked like the old Pterodactyl Dinozord, there were very subtle changes. It still looked like a flying chest-plate, but the chest-plate looked somewhat beefier. He had yet to take a picture to send to Kim, but had a feeling she would definitely get a kick out of seeing it in action. The break had also allowed Daphne to join the team as the Topaz Sabre Tiger Crystal Ranger. Her Crystal Weapons were the sickle-like Tiger Shotels and Aimee had taken time from her Uni schedule to train the newest Ranger in the art of dual weapon fighting.

"Thinking about anything interesting?"

Bringing himself out of his thoughts, he smiled softly at the girl in front of him. Although Bree had yet to confide in him what was bothering her lately, she had been there as a reliable friend. She would have made a good Ranger, but he had a feeling her destiny lay away from the Ranger path. He had another feeling that he was extremely wrong and he would have to do something about it. Strangely, he had the same feelings coming from the teacher of Food Service. Her name was Olivia Vojnovic and, much to the amusement of everyone in the class, she had picked him as her 'right hand'. So far, it was nothing major but he, along with pretty much everyone in the college, had noticed she was clinging to him much more than she had done to others in the past. If he wanted to put it another way, he would have likened himself to a life preserver or something like that. However, he wasn't too keen to get into yet another relationship while his was currently on the rocks.

Karone had popped into the Ultra Cavern yet again and Rachelle had kicked up a fuss about it. He hadn't seemed to think anything was wrong about it but had talked to the Silver Ultra Ranger and been involved in a rather heated discussion. Unfortunately, it was the 'angry' definition of heated and they had ended up saying some biting things to each other. Hilariously, Karone had put them on the track to mending their relationship and had even compared it to her breakdown with Zhane. While that revelation had stopped their nuclear-level argument in its tracks, they had agreed for a period of separation of sorts. She would be focusing on her Uni work full time and he would be focused on the new team and trying to work out where the next creature would attack from next. Shaking his head, he looked around him at the slowly filling pub and chuckled to himself.

The invitation to Liz's birthday hadn't really come out of the blue as he knew he would be attending, but to have it so damn close to the college was an interesting choice of venue. He was sitting in the outside courtyard that had a short, waist-high fence around it. It looked slightly easy to jump over but he doubted he would be doing anything rather agile that night. There was a buzz in the air that was a heady mix of excitement, laughter, joy and…something else that he couldn't put his finger on. Shaking his head to clear the thoughts that were gathering, he looked up at a loud cheer to see Liz walking in with someone who he knew was her boyfriend, Michael Warwick. She had brought him to the college a few times and the Australian seemed rather friendly. He had even surprised himself by still liking him after his views on the Rangers were revealed. On one hand, he was still a friend of David Johnston. The elder of the Johnston's had lessened his dislike of the Asian, but still had a feeling his brother's death was his fault. On the other hand, given what he had found on the Internet, Weihan wondered if David was only now beginning to feel remorse for his actions in the past.

"Beers all round!"

Wincing at the shout from Michael, he lightly waved to Liz as she slowly made her way over to him. Bree sat down next to him and nursed her lemonade, a look of deep thought on her face. On the table nearest to him, a blonde girl from another class group was chatting to Tara and Emma and gesticulating wildly. For some reason, there was a faint air of resonance around her but he had no idea why it was so. He also kept seeing flashes of a Black Dragon near her…maybe the stress and strain of gathering the Crystal Rangers was getting to him. He saw that Liz had been joined by the other four Crystal Rangers and he smiled to himself as he saw their interactions. He pushed those thoughts out of his head and grimaced. It was too early in the night for him to be thinking those thoughts. The five Rangers sat around him as the volume of the teens around them increased. The strangely foreboding feeling in his gut had lessened somewhat but something was putting him on high alert.

"What's the verdict on those two? Still on the fence or has Tara's position changed more?"

Shaking his head at Bec's question, he stole a glance at the two individuals in question. The blonde girl that they had been talking to had gone into the crowd and they were doing a very poor job at trying not to listen in. Allowing the corners of his lips to quirk up for a brief moment, his mind returned to the question, lowering his voice so it wouldn't be picked up by the two eavesdroppers.

"Tara…she seems to want to join for some reason. Emma's still in the negative side though."

"So, are we good as a five girl band or what?"

He shook his head and looked around distractedly. There was something magical that was occurring somewhere. Every sense in his body was screaming at him to move away from where he was seated, but he didn't know why that was the case. Eyes flicking towards the outside bar, he could see a strange male sitting there in a brooding position. He had sandy blonde hair and was wearing a crimson shirt with black pants that looked like some sort of training uniform. There was a strange device on his left wrist and, if he didn't know any better, Weihan would have thought it was a Morpher. Reaching out with his sense, he lightly brushed the boy's aura before pulling back with a muted hiss of surprise. The guy was a Ranger, but one that he had never seen before. Snapping back to the question, he opened his mouth to answer while keeping his gaze locked onto the strange Ranger.

"Unfortunately not, you guys need Tara to join to form the full Megazord and Emma if you need the Ultrazord…uh, Crystal Ultrazord that is."

He shook his head as they sighed and groaned in disappointment. The music coming in from the pub was reaching a deafening volume, but that was almost drowned out by the revelry of the people around them. He had a strange feeling that he would soon be learning what it was like in St Andrews when the Nekros incident was occurring. He could even see the shadows of a few frisky people risking being caught by whoever was watching.

"Crank it up! Yeah baby!"

Rolling his eyes at the shout by a random drunk, he shouted over the din as best as he could. Around him were more drunken students celebrating the end of the first few weeks of class and bitching about how they seemed to stretch on for months. Of course, he had to be extremely careful about what came out of his mouth as the press had ripped his press statement to shreds; citing that there was no reason why they couldn't have come back as soon as possible and that they needed to focus on saving the world before the Universe. Luckily, Channel 7 had issued a counter-statement that ripped apart the original argument.

"We still need Tara and Emma to join and you'll be all right. Trust me; I swear not to let anything happen to you guys."

The words hadn't even reached the ears of the two individuals in question when an explosion across the street knocked the wailing of the music offline. The Rangers shot to their feet and looked at the tall flames bursting from the other side of a parked car. Panicked sobriety began filtering through the minds of the gathered revellers and Weihan swore under his breath as the crowd slowly began to make their way to the exit. To his minor annoyance, he could see that some of them were stopping at the bar to get last minute drinks, snacks and – in one case – an entire roast chicken. With a screech of bending and ripping metal, the parked car was cleaved into two by a bipedal monster and Weihan swore out loud.

Whatever it was, it looked like a dinosaur that was created from chain mail. Long links hung off its body and its tail ended in a spiked mace. In one hand, it held a three-sectioned staff with a blade on one end…and the weapon was pretty much the only thing on the monster that wasn't made of chain. It stopped and sniffed the air once before issuing a noise from its throat that sounded like bellowing and rattling at the same time. Flinching at the sound, he growled under his breath at Jorja's comment.

"You were saying?"

His mind raced and he concealed his left wrist, summoning his combination Morpher. He had no idea what the weakness of the creature was but he was willing to bet that it couldn't pick up a good speed. Fingering the button to access his Turbo Powers, he snuck a glance behind him at the people still looking at the creature in dazed or drunken shock. Obviously, he couldn't morph in full view of them but he still had to do something. His head snapped back at the sound of an electrical crackle and he swallowed hard as he saw a brilliant blue ball start to form in the mouth of the monster.

"Liz, you and Bree get everyone out of here as quickly as you can. Jorja, Daphne and Phoebe, direct them into the Monster Shelters. If you need to open them, use the code 3-6-9 for priority access. Tara and Emma, you two take care of any stragglers in the group. All Rangers come back here after your assigned tasks."

They stared at him as if he had grown a second head before speaking at once. He shook his head and wondered why they didn't know that the safety of civilians was a topmost priority. Turning around to face them, he shouted above the din the monster was making.

"Move! I'll try to slow whatever it is down!"

They nodded and began pushing at the remaining students. Sneaking a glance at the strange boy, Weihan could see him looking at him curiously and he swore as he realised he had spoken too loudly about them being Rangers. well, if his hunch was correct, then the boy was also a fellow Ranger and they would be dealing with the monster quickly. Steeling himself, he ran towards the wall and vaulted over it. Twin shards of pain lanced up his legs as his feet impacted against the ground, but he channelled energy into them to speed up the healing process. The monster cocked its head in confusion at the new figure that had challenged it, but didn't stop the charging of whatever it was in its mouth. Pressing down on the button for his Raptor Rider Turbo Powers, a smile flashed over his face as the spandex-like uniform covered him.

Time to get to work.

TBC…

AN: Gee, I wonder who the guy in the crimson shirt is…not.


	24. 23: Cameras

Chapter Twenty Three: Cameras

Hunter Bradley was having a bad night.

He had Ninja-streaked to Sydney to clear his mind from the madness that had was clouding it since his 'defection' from Lothor. His brother had understood his need for space and some alone time, but had expressed mild concern about him using his Ninja Powers to streak over the ocean. There weren't exactly small islands dotting the route from Blue Bay Harbour to Sydney that could be used as stepping stones and if he were to quickly stop on private boats…well, the secret of the Ninja Academies would be out. Despite all the odds stacked against him, the Crimson Ninja had made it to Sydney relatively unscathed but he was extremely thirsty. The Ninja Ranger had made his way to a local pub and had ordered a tall glass of orange juice. He hadn't noticed the bar filling up with rowdy students from a nearby college until his Ninja senses had gone off when a strange Asian kid had walked in.

He looked extremely similar to Cam and Hunter had to stop himself from going over and asking who was watching Ninja Ops. However, there was a strange aura of power around him that he had never sensed before. Whatever it was, it was clearly stronger than the powers from both Academies and would easily be enough to destroy Lothor in one swoop. He wondered if the boy was the elusive Orange Ultra Ranger that had been seen in Sydney, but thought better of it. Surely the Orange Ranger would want to lie low until the dust cloud from his 'press release' died down. Plus, he doubted that the Orange Ranger would really be studying at some 'preppy' Hotel Management School.

However, it would seem that he was very wrong on both accounts. He hadn't sensed the monster's arrival which was odd, but had seen and heard the destruction it had caused. The amount of raw power coming from the monster chilled him as Lothor had never ever used that amount of power in his creatures. He had heard the boy bark out a set of orders before leaping over the wall and pressing a button on a strange wrist object. He had looked away at a bright burst of Orange light and, when he had looked back, he had seen the morphed form of a Turbo Ranger racing at the monster, trailing afterimages behind him. He took a few steps toward the battle but was stopped by a hand on his upper arm. Looking at the arm's owner, he blinked as he saw a tall Australian buy reaching into his pocket and pulling out what looked to be a fairly expensive camera phone and begin snapping pictures.

"What are you doing?"

"It's the scoop of the century! I spied that Asian kid sitting with Liz and knew he was bad news. I was right…in a way 'cause I'm going to be rich!"

Hunter growled under his breath as the stupid moron kept snapping the pictures of the battle. Rangers operated under a strict veil of secrecy due to the fact that, if they didn't, the enemy would be able to take advantage of whatever restrictions were placed on them by the government of the day. He had certainly heard Lothor plotting about what he would do if the Ninja Rangers' identities were ever made public. Amusingly, it had involved a lot of slime, money and toilet paper, which meant that it would be a mean-spirited prank…which actually seemed to fit the slightly loopy Space Ninja. Taking the offending limb off his arm, he looked around the pub to see if the girls had obeyed their instructions. Straining his Ninja Senses, he could hear the confused babble of students as they filed into the Monster Shelters. If he concentrated hard enough, he could even hear the clicking of buttons on keypads. He was shaken out of his concentration by a female voice somewhere behind him. Turning in surprise, he saw that the pub was devoid of any individuals besides himself, the seven girls and the strange idiot with the camera phone.

"Michael! What are you doing? You need to get out of here!"

"I'm not going anywhere without you, Liz! And I'm not going anywhere until I capture the face of the Asian when he takes his Ranger armour off!"

Most of the colour drained from Liz's face as she processed the words. Michael had somehow managed to see Weihan before he morphed and had connected the dots. Also, he had brought out a camera phone and was snapping pictures of the battle while the strange man in the crimson shirt looked on. She opened her mouth to try and dissuade the other man from listening to their quarrel, when she saw the device on his left wrist. It looked like a fairly large and metallic beetle of some description, although metal beetles usually didn't pulse with that much power. Meeting his eyes, she same the man nod once before introducing himself.

"I'm Hunter Bradley from the Thunder Academy. Is everyone else safe?"

She nodded once and snapped her head over to the site of the battle as a large flare of Orange light temporarily illuminated the surroundings. Weihan had changed from his Turbo armour into his full Battle Armour and could hold off the monster easily. However, she knew that he was pulling his attacks so the five Rangers could defeat the creature. She made a motion to step forwards when a strange thought flashed across her mind. If they did destroy the creature, then it would inevitably grow. The only Rangers that had their Zords in the Hangar Bays were herself, Bec, Jorja and Phoebe. Daphne's Sabre Tiger Zord was still with the strangely armoured Ninja guy and he had informed them that it would be ready when the remaining two Rangers joined up.

She knew that a pseudo-Megazord could be formed from the four Zords, but she had absolutely no idea what it would look like or how it would all connect together. If they really needed help, she was sure Weihan could break out more of his Zords from storage or the strange Hunter from the Thunder Academy, wherever that was, could help in some way. Barring that, they would need the other Ultra Rangers to help with the grown creature. Turning to the battle, she twisted her left wrist to summon her Crystal Morpher. Hunter's voice sounded from behind her.

"You girls need to help him. I'll make sure he doesn't do anything with those pictures."

"You gotta be kidding me! I'm going to make a fortune and Liz doesn't care if I share the pictures! She will –"

Hunter rolled his eyes and plucked the camera phone out of the hands of the blathering idiot. The apparent boyfriend shouted at his actions and he willed himself not to call upon his Thunder Powers to fry the idiot. Channelling his strength into his hands, he easily crushed the camera phone into powder while the boy looked on in horror, emitting a sound that was a cross between a horrified scream and a sickly groan. It eerily mimicked the sound he had heard Lothor make on numerous occasions when the Rangers had defeated a monster and he pushed down the bubble of hysterical laughter that threatened to break free.

Pushing the idiot behind him, his stomach tightened as he picked up on the sounds of teleporting. From the pattern of the crackle, he could tell that there were enemy grunts teleporting in. Powerful Ranger or not, he knew that the Orange Ranger would have a hard time battling the monster and the grunts, especially if no assistance came. He looked down at the Morpher on his wrist before shaking his head once. If he activated it, Cam would know instantly where he was and send the others to help him. He would only use it if there was no other choice. Looking at the five girls in front of him, he motioned to the battle with his head.

"Go now! Even I can see he needs help!"

Liz nodded and stepped forward, ignoring Michael's surprised cries. Looking down at her summoned Morpher, she took a few seconds to take it in. compared to the fancy wrist Morphers that she had seen; the Crystal Morpher was actually pretty plain. For all intents and purposes, it looked like a slightly oversized wristwatch with the face looking like an 'old-school' Power Morpher. She could see her Crystal Coin pulsing in the central depression and let the Power flow through her mind and body, controlling her movements. Holding her left hand at chest level, she placed her right hand on the underside of her palm and felt the Power Circuit complete itself. She felt the air charge with energy as the other four Crystal Rangers readied themselves. A thought flashed across the front of her mind wondering what Michael would think of what she was about to do, but she squashed it violently. There would be plenty of time later to decide what needed to be done and with Bree in the Ultra Cavern, they would be relatively safe.

"Crystal Morph!"

Splaying her fingers out, she pushed her left wrist out sharply and felt the Power envelop her. A shimmering cocoon of off-white light surrounded her and she smiled briefly as she heard the low growling of the Ivory Tiger as it stalked towards her. From the outside similar cocoons of crystalline energy wrapped around the other Rangers for the briefest of moments, before shattering apart to reveal the morphed forms of the Crystal Rangers. Hunter was surprised to hear no individual Power declarations but that was probably due to there being no time for any real song-and-dancing. The off-white Ranger, maybe it was Ivory but he didn't know for sure, looked over her shoulder and seemed to smile at him before running off toward the battle. Seconds later, he could hear cries punctuating the sounds of fists and feet hitting what sounded like extremely solid surfaces.

The idiot whose phone he had crushed was now silent and was looking in the direction that the girl he had been talking to had gone off in. There was a very unsettling look in his eyes …almost like the look Lothor had when he thought up one of his 'evil' plans. The Thunder Ninja doubted very much that talking would get through the skull of the boy, but it would be worth a try anyway. Opening his mouth, he was cut off by a small shriek from one of the remaining girls. Snapping his head around to look around, his mouth dried up as three rocklike figures lurched around the corner and into the pub. He couldn't call on the Rangers for help as they were busy battling the monster and he surely couldn't call the other Ninja Storm Rangers for help as he doubted they had the skills to cross the ocean in a short amount of time. Blake, to use an incredibly lame pun, would be in the same boat as them…so that only left one option.

Tugging back the sleeve on his left arm, he stepped in front of the trio of cowering civilians and raised his left hand in front of his face. He noticed that his fingers had arranged themselves in the 'double-barrelled pistol' formation and his lips quirked in a semblance of a smile. While morphing in front of civilians was frowned upon, this was a dire situation and he couldn't streak to a safer place and come back. Plus, the civilians were known to the Rangers…so it wouldn't really be morphing in front of strangers.

"Thunder Storm, Ranger Form!"

Not even thinking about the motions, he pressed the activation button on the bottom of his Thunder Morpher and allowed the costume to settle on his body. Dropping into a Ninja stance as the HUD flickered on; he pulled out the Thunder Staff from the sheath on his back and prepared to attack. If the Rangers were any good, they would take over the monster battle and leave the Orange Ranger to take care of the remaining grunts and the strange kid who had discovered his identity.

The Orange Ranger would know what to do.

TBC…


	25. 24: Faceting

Chapter Twenty Four: Faceting

This new creature was damned strong.

He had been forced to switch from his Turbo Powers to his regular Battle Armour after being thrown into one too many parked cars. To make matters slightly more difficult, Jabarkas had sent down a troop of Golems and they were hammering the area around them with their powerful blows. On top of that, his identity had been discovered by Liz's boyfriend who wouldn't be swayed by the threats of his girlfriend leaving him. It was almost as if the boy had been temporarily possessed by all of Steven Moss' greed and disregard for human emotions, but that would require him to be dead first and those sorts of miracles didn't happen too often. Snorting as he ducked under a chain swing from the creature that had yet to reveal its name, Weihan agreed that it was time to see how well he had progressed in the memory spell department.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the other Crystal Rangers ploughing into the Golems with deadly force and accuracy. There was also some sort of lightshow happening and he hoped the strange Ranger was defending Emma, Tara and Michael. Summoning the Raptor Cannon, he sent three charged shots flying towards the monster and activated a 'boost' he hadn't used in a very, very long time. Time seemed to slow to a crawl around him as he continued to fire charged blast after charged blast at the monster at every possible angle he could think of. Only when he was confident that he had covered every escape route did he release his control of his speed. Ducking quickly to avoid being decapitated by a thick tree branch, he rolled along the ground and heard the roar of surprise emanate from the creature as it was peppered by charged bolts on all sides. Dismissing the cannon, he pulled out his Raptor Sabre and did a quick headcount on the HUD radar.

Liz and Bec had taken over from him and they were battling the monster with medium-range attacks. Liz wielded her Ivory Spear effectively and Bec's Ice Pistols were coating the creature in a thin layer of frost, making its movement slow and sluggish. Jorja, Phoebe and Daphne were making short work in turning the Golems around them to gravel and their reflexes had improved to almost Ultra Ranger-level agility. Slowly getting to his feet, he looked around to see if Jabarkas had come down to see the monster or if there were other Rangers coming in from the shadows. Much to his surprise, there were no sounds, sights or smells that were out of the ordinary…well, besides the strange crackles of lightning coming from the pub. In fact, if he didn't know any better, he would have said that…

The windows on the upper floor of the pub burst out as flames leapt into the cool night air. Clenching his teeth together, he spared one last look at the Crystal Rangers and ran toward the burning pub. As he came closer, he could hear the sounds of a single Ranger engaged in combat. Slowing slightly so he didn't tumble over, he rounded a corner and stopped dead in his tracks as he saw a member of the newest team of Rangers fighting in front of him. There were some similarities in the style used that likened it to being an offshoot of the Ninjetti Training Rachel was receiving on Phaedos, but it seemed to favour more outlandish moves and things that Ninjor would say were 'unneeded'.

The uniform was coloured a dark crimson and there was a strange symbol on the chest of the Ranger, almost like the horn of a Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle. The next thing that was noticed was the seemingly random colour scheme of the rest of the uniform, including the strange gold shoulder-pads and belt. He didn't know who had thought grey mesh arms, black pants and gold forearm and fist coverings were a good idea, but whoever had designed the uniforms needed to be shot…or have their eyes checked. The gold even stretched up and around the visor on the helmet and extended to form a mini version of the chest insignia. He guessed it was to strike terror in the hearts of the enemy but he found it incredibly distracting and detracted from the whole image of the Ranger as an unstoppable force. Actually, if he were to be entirely honest with himself, the only things on the Ranger that actually were somewhat impressive were the Ninja-like helmet and the strange rod-like weapon he used.

Seeing one of the 'defeated' Golems suddenly rise up behind the Ranger, Weihan sprang into action. He barely registered the shouts from both Emma and Tara as he leapt over the wall and drew his Raptor Laser. This would require extremely precise and accurate targeting, but he knew he could trust in the Power to guide the shots. Pulling back the trigger, he allowed a thick blast of fiery energy to streak through the air – barely missing the Crimson Ranger's head – and impact against the 'neck' of the Golem. The high-energy projectile broke through the 'crust' of the Golem and flung it away from the Ranger…into a pile of gas heaters that had been put out for the cold nights. Groaning under his breath, he stowed his blaster and helped the bug Ranger with the remaining two Golems. As the last one crumbled under their attacks, he looked to one side as opened his mouth.

"What team are you from?"

"Uh…Ninja Storm in Blue Bay Harbour. Name's Hunter Bradley. I'm the Crimson Thunder Ranger."

Ninja Storm…well, it was good to always have a confirmation that there was a new Ranger team overseas. Even though the Ranger he had met wasn't the Red Ranger, Crimson was a shade of red anyway…or at least that was the BS that Eric kept spouting out. He looked behind him at the slowly dissolving body of the Golem and swallowed hard as his HUD warned him of an imminent explosion…that wasn't due to the gas tanks in the heaters but from the propane tanks inside the pub. Why a pub would have a propane tank was beyond his understanding, but they needed to act fast if they didn't want to get nuked. He lifted his left wrist to his helmet and activated the communicator.

"All right, we gotta get out of here quickly. This place is going to explode. Bree, can you lock onto the five of us and bring us in?"

"No problem. Ah also have the Crystal Dinozords on standby jus' in case."

He nodded and allowed the energy of the teleportation system to envelop his body. the moment his feet left the ground, he winced as he heard and saw the pub explode in a glowing sphere of light and flame. He hoped the pub was insured against monster attacks as if not…well, that was another thing the Rangers would be blamed for. Materialising in the Ultra Cavern, he took a quick moment to demorph and assess the situation. Bree was doing all right calling the shots for the Crystal Rangers and coming up with good tactical planning. He needed eyes and ears on the long-range scanners and Hunter…he would have to check in with his team at some stage.

"Emma, Tara, slide behind the long range scanners and see if there's anything else coming down. Hunter, you can use the Communication Console to communicate with your team mates."

The Thunder Ranger and the two potential Rangers slid behind their assigned stations and began working. He looked behind him at Michael Warwick, the Australian was openly gaping and in awe at the technology around him. Slowly, he registered Weihan's piercing gaze and turned towards him. The Orange Ranger pointed to a far corner that wasn't near anything vital and spoke in a low tone.

"You, stay in a corner and for the love of Christ, don't touch anything!"

Not bothering to see the boy go, Weihan rushed to Bree's station and ran his eyes over the readouts. From the looks of things, there was an obvious weak point of the monster that he hadn't noticed. In the centre of its chest, it looked like there was a ball of knots that every single chain was attached to. He would have kicked himself for not seeing it in the first place but, on the other hand, he had been quite busy trying to stay alive. Reaching over Bree, he tapped a few controls to bring up the real-time energy readouts of the Crystal Weapons. If the Tri Sai and the Tiger Shotels worked in the same way as his Crocodile Sais and the Sabre Claw, then they could shoot out a wave of energy when charged. He didn't know if the Ivory Spear was capable of an energy wave, but anything was really possible. They would need both Emma and Tara to join for the combined Blaster to be formed, even though the Zords of Liz, Bec and Jorja could create a Megazord or sorts. Actually, he wasn't really sure what to call it.

"Rangers, charge up your weapons and aim at the very centre of the creature. A combined energy wave attack should be enough to destroy it."

Nary was a grunt of acknowledgement received from the fighting Rangers, but they began charging their weapons with Grid Energy. That was another thing to mull over; thinking about where exactly the Crystal Rangers drew their powers from. It wouldn't be the Morphin Grid, even though their suits and powers were practically similar to the Morphin Rangers. It wouldn't really be the Ultra Grid either as the Crystal Rangers had yet to call on Assault or Hellfire Armours. However, the Crystal Coins had come from the Ultra Crystals but didn't seem to be drawing any power from them. Maybe, just maybe, it was a fine mix of the two…but that didn't make any sense either. A fine mix of the two Grids would produce Rangers that were extremely strong and had little to no weaknesses, much like the Ultra Rangers. Shaking his head, he watched five streams of charged energy lance out of the weapons of the Rangers and impact against the very centre of the monster's chest.

The fireball produced by the monster was stunning but was dwarfed in his recent memory by the explosion of the pub. He held his breath and waited for the energy glow to surround the monster…or the silver sphere to come rocketing from the heavens. A few seconds later, he saw a silver Growth Grenade plummet from the sky and explode a few metres above the flaming body of the monster. This would be the first test of the Crystal Dinozords of four Rangers. He turned to Bree and spoke three words.

"Send the Zords."

TBC…


	26. 25: Crystal Megazord

AN: Read on for an extremely exciting announcement!

Chapter Twenty Five: Crystal Megazord

The Zords came without warning.

One second, Liz had been looking up at the gigantic beast and had moved slightly to call the Crystal Dinozords. The next thing she knew, four coloured lasers had smashed into the chest of the creature and had knocked it away from the business district. Unfortunately, it seemed that every part of North Sydney was a business district of some sort and the chain-based creature had clipped one of the buildings. She winced under her helmet at the wanton destruction and hoped that they could at least destroy the creature before they destroyed the CBD. Looking at Daphne, she felt a twinge of sympathy upon seeing the Zord-less Ranger.

"Daphne, you can't do anything here. Get back to the Ultra Cavern."

The Yellow Topaz Ranger nodded and teleported away in a streak of crystalline light. Looking up at the massive Zords that towered above them, Liz tightened her grip around her Ivory Spear and leapt up into the air as she had seen the others do. Bec, Phoebe and Jorja exchanged amused glances before imitating the action and allowing the line-of-sight teleportation system to take effect. Bec felt her body dissolve for a split second before materialising in the cockpit of the Onyx Mammoth Dinozord. Briefly taking her eyes off the monster in front of her, she spent a few seconds marvelling at the controls around her. The Simul-Deck training sessions had been great and all and had totally captured the look at possible feel of the cockpits, but they were nothing compared to actually sitting in a Zord. And sitting she was, having materialised in a plush leather chair with raised armrests studded with strange buttons, switches and controls. Directly in front of her were two control sticks that looked like old-school computer joysticks. Wrapping her fingers around them, she fought to control a blush as a very X-rated thought flashed across the front of her mind for the briefest of instants.

Swallowing hard, she refocused her mind as she saw the others begin moving their Zords towards the machine. Through a handily placed screen to the left of her field of vision, she could see the forecasted plan of attack – to surround the creature and pummel the Hell out of it with their energy weapons. Quietly, she thought that it was a rather stupid plan as the holes of the chains would lessen any impact of energy based weapons…but on the other hand, she had other ways to fight. Pulling back on both sticks, she pressed down on the pedals under her feet and raised the trunk. There was surely a better way to do such a simple act…but she would have to find out what it was later. Quickly tapping the keypad under the screen to inform the others of her imminent attack, she pulled back on the main triggers to allow twin streams of freezing energy to blast out of the end of the trunk. Tracing the trajectory of the blasts, Bec could see her shots would impact against the side of the monster and patch up the holes in the chains.

In theory it should have worked. However, real life had a tendency to not go as planned most of the time. Although the icy streams impacted in exactly the place where Bec had predicted, the effect was somewhat…muted. The immediate area around the impact site froze over but only spread out on a small area. Channelling more and more power into the blasts only marginally increased the area of effect and, after a few more minutes of rather feeble attacks, Bec had to stop the attack. The ice thawed as quickly as it had formed and the chain-based creature retaliated by opening its mouth to spit out three balls of blue energy at the Mammoth Zord. Bec shrieked in surprise as sparks rained around her and the Zord trembled rather ominously. Flicking the switch for the Zord-wide communication network, she attempted to inject as much amusement as she could in her shaky voice.

"Woo…uh, that didn't phase it. Any other ideas?"

Without acknowledging her, Liz pushed her dual control sticks, forcing the Ivory Tigerzord forward. The machine leapt at the chain monster and slashed its torso with its claws. The beast made a sound akin to a scream and attempted to back away – only for Phoebe's Pterodactyl Zord to dive-bomb it with lasers fired from wing-mounted cannons. The Sapphire Triceratops Zord activated its horn-tip cannons and began strafing to the left, always managing to avoid accidentally shooting her friends. In her cockpit, Liz pressed on with the attack and tried not to think about what would happen to Michael. His comment of sharing some of his future 'fortune' with her was a sweet thought and showed that there was a truly caring person under the hard exterior…but still, he had planned to get the fortune by shamelessly selling their identities out to the highest bidder. That kind of stopped any romantic feelings in their tracks and it seriously made her reconsider becoming involved with him but, on the other hand, maybe she could persuade him to not sell their identities…

She dropped her head slightly and shook it once. Michael thought she didn't care if he shared the pictures and that thought left a rather sour taste in her mouth. There was a point that he didn't know she was a Ranger when he made that comment, but she had talked about Weihan a fair amount to him. To be fair, she had talked more about the fact that he seemed to be doing rather well under Olivia's extremely heavy flirting rather than the…other things, but the point still stood that he had been a discussed topic of theirs. Bringing her mind back to the present moment to avoid a low bite from the creature, she backed off and activated the Ivory Blaster…whatever that was. Instantly, her field of vision flashed once and the monster screeched in agony as a powerful beam smashed into its chest. As the monster struggled to right itself, Liz frowned and flicked through the external camera to see what had happened. Slowing down the replay at the exact moment of the attack, she sighed to herself as the area around the 'eyes' of the Zord lit up with light from the discharge.

Dismissing the replay from the viewscreen, she leapt backward to avoid a long-range strike from the forearm chains of the beast. Firing back with the Ivory Blaster, she rolled the Zord away from the attack once more and caught a glimpse of Phoebe's Zord flying overhead. The pink and silver Zord spewed lasers from the cannons and a strange rippling beam of sorts was extending from the beak of the machine. The creature, having fully recovered from its laser 'scare', screeched into the sky and rapidly extended a chain connected to its neck. The weapon rocketed into the sky and would have punched a hole straight through the Pterodactyl Dinozord if Phoebe hadn't pulled up just in time.

"Yikes. That chain has some reach…we need a new plan."

Liz clenched her teeth together and tried to look at the situation the way Weihan would. As individuals, they were strong but they were woefully outclassed by the monster. Maybe if the creature wasn't so strong, they would have had a good chance of taking it down but she was sure the creature had been designed to take on the Ultra Rangers. Well, seeing as the Ultra Rangers were practically scattered around Sydney and one in particular wasn't really talking to the Orange Ranger, they were on their own. Daphne wouldn't get a Zord until both Tara and Emma joined up and Weihan wanted to let them stand on their own feet…but they had to get out of their situation at hand. She punched the side of her cockpit in frustration but forced herself to relax.

She had access to a wealth of information and tactics if she could just relax, clear her mind and be connected with whatever Grid she had access to. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply and tried to clear her mind of everything. Reaching out with her senses, she could feel a warm presence behind her that seemed almost fatherly and familiar. A strange image popped into her mind's eye of a face floating in mid-air, but that was pretty much impossible. Weihan hadn't really said much about the original mentor of the Power Rangers, Zordon he had said his name was, only that he died to purge the evil of Dark Spectre from the Universe. She felt a smile slowly creep over her face as she realised that the ancient mentor hadn't completely let go of his attachments to the Rangers and was still helping them.

For the briefest of moments, nothing came and she thought that Zordon or whoever it was had give up. However, a split second later, a torrent of new information crashed into her head with all the force of a freight train. She imagined herself drowning under the weight of the new information, images and calls before opening her eyes while inhaling a deep lungful of air. Pausing to let the information sink in; she smiled at two images that refused to leave the forefront of her mind. So that was what a three Zord Megazord looked like. Of course, the second image was overlaid on top, showing a four Zord Megazord and she could see the similarities between the original 'Dino' Megazord and the proposed Mega.

Flicking a series of switches on her right armrest that linked the four Zords together, she intoned the words that would create the four Zord Megazord. Maybe it could have been the three Zord combo if Phoebe wasn't given her Zord so early, but that wasn't Ninjor's fault. The Zord hummed to life around her at her words and she hoped the shields were strong enough to repel any attack made by the creature.

"Crystal Megazord – Armoured Mode!"

A shudder seemed to ripple through the air as the words reached into the very heart of the Grid. All four Zords levitated into the air and drew together as a bubble-like shield surrounded them. The creature spat out several balls of energy at the shield but growled in confusion when none of the attacks seemed to penetrate. The controls went slack as the transformation mechanisms began to flick online one at a time. Liz watched in awe as the Sapphire Triceratops Zord seemed to ripple once before doubling in size. The head detached and the body split up the middle to create legs and feet. The cannons on the back of the Zord also split in half and moved to the read of the legs to, hopefully, change into thrusters. Barring that, there would be few tactics to make use of the backward-facing blasters…but she supposed she could make up a few new ones if pressed. The tail of the Triceratops pulled out of its back and folded its end blasters inward to create what looked like a rather large belt. The head flattened somewhat to make a rather offensive shield with the horns jutting out, rather than curving inward.

The Onyx Mammoth's transformation was extremely similar to the Black/Green Mammoth and the Mastodon Dinozord, but as the head of the Triceratops Zord was the shield, the Mammoth's head underwent another transformation. The ears retracted into the head and the trunk detached. The barely-visible seam along the eyes opened up to reveal a jagged visor and the tusks moved up to create horns. As there was no visible mouth-plate on the head, it game the appearance of a demonic version of an Ultra Ranger. Unfortunately, Liz had seen what an evil 'Ultra' Ranger looked like and it wasn't pretty. She supposed it was a good thing that the Megazord was a humanoid biped and not like the strange horse-being she had seen in Equestria. However, any further musings on this subject were cut short as her Zord started to move, twist and contort around her. The head of the Zord pulled into its neck as the viewscreen darkened.

Tapping a few keys on the keypad, she was given a view of the external cameras and could see the changes occurring. The front paws folded up and the shortened legs rotated outward to give the appearance of shoulder armour, while the rear legs swung down and up into the chest to for the connectors for the lower half and legs. The transforming Zord shuddered once as the head locked into place in the hole where the head had retracted and the arms joined from behind. The strange 'M' like designs on the Mammoth Zord were covered up by strange wing-like protrusions that had come from the Pterodactyl Zord and the head of the flying Zord had snapped onto the front of the shield. All in all, the shield now looked like something from a bad 70's acid trip…but there was no way she would voice that opinion to Weihan or Ninjor. The shield connected slightly above the wrist of the right arm and settled into place as the Pterodactyl changed. Nothing had changed in the transformation, except that the head and the wingtips didn't have to retract into the main body. Liz was only able to get a brief look at what the chest of the Crystal Megazord would have looked like before it was covered by the jagged-tooth like chest-plate. The armour of the chest was extremely similar to one of the Megazords the Morphin Rangers had in their later years and she struggled to remember the name of it. It was something in Japanese that her 'internal guide' informed her meant Crystal…which was rather interesting and intriguing. The two characters were placed in the centre of a golden triangle. Apart from the triangle, the rest of the chest seemed very plain, well apart from the three circles that were set aside from the triangle. What designs were on them, she couldn't see as the shaking from the Zord's connection to the chest-plate and legs stopped any further sightseeing. She felt a rush of power flood her body for an instant before she was transported to the central cockpit of the Zord where the other three Rangers awaited.

Taking a brief moment to look around, she noted that they were in the 'standard' seating arrangement of herself and Bec in the front and Jorja and Phoebe one either side of them. There were two control sticks in front of her, as well as a control pad of some sort. As she looked at the buttons, a short description of the attacks that would be unleashed flashed up on her HUD from flares to icicle blasts and even a strange oil slick of sorts. What use that would be in a battle was beyond her…but she guessed it was better to be over-prepared. Pausing to allow her mind to connect with the minds of the other girls, she took a hold of the control sticks and finished the sequence.

"Crystal Megazord – Armoured Mode, transformation complete."

TBC…

Announcement: After years of no updates and forgetting about it, I finally found the original hard copy of 'Blasts from the Past', so updates will finally start coming for that long-forgotten story. Slowly though as I need to polish up the structure and chapters…but it's coming back.

Soon.


	27. 26: Protocols

AN: Well, the sequel to The Ultra Crystals has crept over 50K words on 10/10/12. Let's just say there's going to be a while before all seven come together, as well as another long while before the event alluded to in Rangers of the Elements occurs…

Chapter Twenty Six: Protocols

The Megazord gleamed in the moonlight.

The Rangers stared at the creature, which stared back with its oddly hollowed eye sockets. It was almost like they were battling against a Fiend that was made entirely out of chains, but Liz knew that the enemy wasn't that stupid. For one, Fiends were tougher and deadlier than some knock-off creature made of chains. They were also much faster and their acidic venom could easily eat through anything. On the other hand, this creature had a strange ability to unravel practically any part of its body and attack with the chains. That gave it a practically unlimited reach and then there had been the attack it had tried to pull off when it had first appeared. She didn't know what would have happened if Weihan hadn't stopped it and she wasn't too keen to see what it would do to the Megazord's armour. She was itching to see what the Megazord could do, but was cut off by a voice coming over the internal speakers.

"So the first Megazord y'all pull off isn't the core one?"

Light chuckles rippled through the Rangers as they realised Bree was correct. Although it was a Megazord of sorts, it didn't really match the image that the presence had flashed in Liz's mind for that brief amount of time. Actually, if she really wanted to nitpick, it was as if she had just called on the Megazord that would allow all four Rangers to be 'protected' or something like that. Shaking her head, she returned to the present moment just in time to yelp in surprise as the creature swung both of its arms forwards, flinging the chains out to strike the Zord. Or rather, it would have struck the Megazord if Liz hadn't yanked the control sticks to the left sharply, forcing the bulky Zord into a tight roll. She winced under her helmet as she heard the faint crunch of cars being flattened underfoot and hoped she could wrap up the battle fairly quickly. Over the internal speakers, she could hear Bree talking to Weihan…who sounded slightly distracted.

"That one for the record books?"

"Yeah, I'd say so. Goddamn idiot…I told him to not touch anything! Christ…"

Liz groaned under her breath as she realised Michael's curiousity was getting the better of him. During their short time together, she had always seen him trying to get into places where they weren't really allowed to be. There was a condemned house a few blocks away from where he lived with his parents and one night a week or so ago, he had cajoled her into accompanying him and David Johnston as they broke in to see if the rumours about it being haunted were true. She didn't know whether it was her connection to the Crystal Ranger Powers or her imagination, but she kept seeing flashes of figures out of the corner of her eye and, for an extremely brief moment, had seen an apparition in front of her of a blonde woman with a welt-like mark around her neck. The woman hadn't seemed surprised that she could see her and had given her a small and sad smile before vanishing into the night. Strangely, Liz had felt a flash of sorrow and barely restrained evil coming from the woman's spirit.

They had left the house soon after and she had kept silent about what she had seen. Amusingly, the two boys had spent most of the time trying to scare her with 'fake' ghostly noises and had expressed genuine astonishment that she hadn't picked up on it right away. Annoyed, she had 'caved' and asked them how much they had to spend on getting the fake ghostly woman to perform for them and privately laughed as she saw their expressions turn to genuine fear in the span of about three seconds. Later, she had felt slightly bad for laughing but it hadn't been her idea to go to the house anyway…even if it seemed as if it was calling her. Keeping her eyes on the monster as it shuffled towards the Megazord, Weihan's voice filtered through the speakers again. He sounded mildly stressed and almost sounded like he would do something extremely drastic.

"Listen girls, I don't know about the subsequent Megazord transformations, but for this battle, there should be an Invincibility protocol in effect. Get used to the controls and experiment with the finisher. We'll be…ah…hang on one sec. What did I tell you not to do?"

The sound dropped out for a few seconds as the angry yelling of the Orange Ranger, combined with the Crimson Thunder Ranger, could be heard in the background. She wondered exactly what it would take for Michael to start running from an irate Orange Ranger and chuckled as the image flashed into the front of her mind. She could hear Emma and Tara in the background trying to soothe the anger of the Orange Ranger…and by the chuckles coming from Bree, they were failing miserably. The monster was still trying to destroy the Megazord with its gaze and hadn't tried anything since its initial attack. As they waited, Bree's voice sounded from the speakers once more time.

"Sorry 'bout that. Still trying to work out what to do with that guy. Anyway, call if you need any help. We'll be here."

The communication with the Ultra Cavern dropped out and, less than a millisecond later, the monster attacked. Leaping into the air, it unravelled its shoulder-pads and swung the free chains at the Megazord. The chains struck the Pterodactyl chest-plate and…nothing happened. There were a few warnings that flashed up onto the main viewscreen, but other than that, there was nothing. No sparks rained from the ceiling and no fires spontaneously erupted from the controls. It was rather…anti-climatic actually. For the first time, Liz wondered about what this 'Invincibility Protocol' was and how it would work before lightly shrugging her shoulders and moving the Zord forward. The Megazord pulled back its left arm and delivered a crushing blow to the chest of the creature, before following up with a knee to its stomach. The monster pulled away from the rampaging machine in fear and pain, but the Rangers kept up the attack. Phoebe pressed a few buttons on her console which allowed a series of lasers to fire out from the chest-plate. While they didn't seem to be doing much damage externally, the constant flashes were certainly disorientating the monster and making its movements more and more sluggish.

Turning to the left sharply, Liz detached the Ivory Tigerzord's tail blade, which was oddly still attached to the backside, and activated the remote controlling system. Without the Megazord even having to touch the blade, it sliced through the air to slash at the chains connecting its arms to its body. Three tightly controlled swoops later and the creature growled in confusion as its arms hung at its sides limply. Stepping away from the robot, it scrunched its face up in a look of…creepily adorable concentration…and its fingers started to twitch. As the tail of the Tigerzord reattached to the rear of the Megazord, Liz swallowed hard as the cut chains seemed to regenerate and reconnect within moments. As the rejuvenated arms of the creature raked against the chest-plate of the Megazord, the sparks finally rained down on the Rangers in the cockpit. No new warnings flashed up as the several-ton machine staggered back, but they knew they had to end the fight pretty quickly.

Though she couldn't see it, Bec could hear the steady thumps of a news helicopter as it flew through the air. Glancing down at the screen nestled between the controls, she could see it was coming from a north-westerly direction and would be coming up to the battle in around seven minutes. This was bad. The image of the attack that had almost punched a hole in Phoebe's Zord flashed into the forefront of her mind and she internally shuddered. The Pink Ranger was safe and in one piece due to the enhanced reflexes granted to them by the Power, but the pilots in the helicopter wouldn't have a ghost of a chance to escape alive. Turning around to face the Ivory Ranger, she took a quick moment to note the incredible tension her friend must have been under before opening her mouth and speaking.

"We need to wrap this up quickly. What do we have for a 'final' weapon?"

Jorja answered the question before Liz could. It seemed her station was in charge of the weapons that weren't built –in, such as the shield and any other weapons they had. Tapping on the keypad, she brought up the images on her screen before transferring them to the main viewscreen.

"Dino Blade or Boomerang Blade. Lots of blades and not a lot of sheaths…"

The Dino Blade looked like the traditional Sword all the 'core' Megazord had in their arsenal. It was made of the tail of the Tigerzord with the horns of the Triceratops as pseudo flares on either end of the cross guard. The handle was made out of the trunk of the Mammoth Zord…but there was nothing on the blade that came from the Pterodactyl Zord. It could still be used, but it wouldn't be as powerful as it would be without being connected to its Megazord…which didn't really make a whole heap of sense in Liz's mind, but that was what the information dump was telling her. However, the Boomerang Blade was different and held a unique resonance with the Armoured Mode and was more than likely the 'weapon of choice'. She relayed this information to the Ultra Cavern and received a positive response from Bree and Hunter. Curiously, she didn't hear Michael in the background at all but knew better than to ask.

Tapping on the keys, she made the Megazord pull out the Boomerang Blade with no declaration of intent. As the weapon materialised in the left arm, she stared at it in wonder. It looked like a smaller Pterodactyl Zord that had been shaped into the form of a boomerang. The wings on either side of the body gleamed in the moonlight and through her telepathic 'pain-link' with the Megazord, she could feel the razor-sharp edges pressing into the 'her' fingers. Emptying her mind of any and all thoughts not pertaining to the battle they were engaged in, she drew on the Ivory Tiger's power and channelled it as best as she could into the Boomerang Blade. As this was her first time doing it on her own without aid of the Power, she kept her mind focused and on task. Ripples in the air around her informed her that the others were channelling their Crystal Powers into the Boomerang Blade as well, charging it up for the final strike. Bec could see the silhouette of the news helicopter in the distance and knew they were practically out of time. Just as the monster started to turn around to target the news helicopter, the 'eyes' on their helmets pulsed with light and power once before Liz shouted out the attack.

"Final Crash!"

Drawing back the left arm, the Megazord paused for a brief moment as the generators pumped a veritable tsunami of energy to the servos in the arm. After a few seconds, the arm snapped forward and sent the Boomerang rocketing towards the monster. Sensing that it only had a few seconds to live, if that, the creature did something extraordinarily clever – it stepped out of the way. Several links on its side heated up from the energy trail left by the blade as it passed the monster but, apart from that, the creature seemed mostly unharmed. The Rangers waited until the weapon curved back in on itself, just barely missing the news chopper, and began to pick up speed. The Pink, Yellow and White blade developed a shimmering green energy aura just as the weapon smashed against the chains on the creature's back.

Incredibly, the Boomerang Blade was briefly stopped by the thick chain mail on the creatures back as it thrashed about in obvious pain. Taking control of the sticks in front of them, the Rangers pumped more power into the spinning blade as – slowly but surely – it began to melt and then break the chains of the monster. Looking like the world's biggest circular saw, the spinning blade chewed through enchanted metal and, finally, cleaved its chain-created heart in two. Catching the Boomerang Blade as it burst out of the chest of the monster like some demented chest-burster, the Megazord used the momentum to spin on its heel as the creature let out one final wail before exploding into a billion pieces of fiery shrapnel. Whether by chance or extraordinary luck, all of the shrapnel seemed to miss the helicopter entirely.

The Rangers let out a small cry of victory before looking at each other. Their first giant monster had been dispatched with a minimum of destruction or trouble…except Michael. Liz could feel their eyes on her and she sighed, slumping in her seat briefly. As Weihan was the overall leader of the Ultra Rangers and any teams under their 'banner', he would be the one to talk to regarding what to do with the information her boyfriend had in his head. She knew Michael and knew he wouldn't want to listen to anything but also knew the Orange Ranger could be very persuasive at times. After all, his mother knew about them and was yet to say anything out of the ordinary to anyone. Dismissing the Boomerang Blade, she turned to the others and sighed yet again.

"All right. Let's get back to the Ultra Cavern and deal with the idiot."

She just hoped he would listen.

TBC…


	28. 27: Drastic Measures

Chapter Twenty Seven: Drastic Measures

"You'll all be exposed!"

Those words greeted Liz even before the energy from the teleport had faded. Taking off her helmet and setting it down on a nearby console, she looked around to see where he had gone to. When Bree pointed her head in the right direction, she swallowed hard to avoid breaking out into raucous laughter. Apparently fed up with Michael's curiosity, Weihan had tied up her boyfriend with a strange glowing rope and had stuck him onto a chair that was practically bolted to the ground. Her lips moved before she could reel her voice in.

"Even me?"

His head swiveled to look at her and she could instantly see he wasn't on the brink of total insanity as she had feared. No, it was something far worse as his eyes were crystal clear and the malicious intent that shone from them sent a waterfall of ice down her spine. This wasn't the kind and caring person that she had fallen in love with but she could see hints of the same determination in his eyes. She didn't have to look up to feel the effect his words had on the other Rangers. There was a strange tension hanging in the air as the assembled Rangers looked at the raving boy with something akin to fear. Weihan stepped forward and Michael's head turned back to him, his mouth opening wide.

"Yes! Even you and don't look so shocked about it! Who needs these guys when you'll be the queen of the world!"

"Yes, because we all know queens can easily destroy evil single-handedly."

Turning away from the 'security breach', Weihan turned to look at Hunter closely. The Crimson Thunder Ninja…Ranger had contacted his 'home base' and had quietly explained the situation to them. The Orange Ranger had been called over for a short while to meet the new Rangers on the block. He allowed a small smile to creep over his face as he realised that a few Ranger 'taboos' had been broken, such as there being only one female on the team and a female Blue Ranger at that! The team had also started out with three members which meant it had the distinction of being the first Power Ranger team and anything-Ranger team on Earth to start with a trio on Day One. As he had done the calculations in his mind and attempted to synch up events, he realised that they had beaten the 'formation' of the Crystal Rangers by a few hours – even when he took in the International Date Line into account.

The male Yellow Ranger had pretty much exploded in joy when he had found out…which was pretty much in line with what Ninjor and Edward had told him about switching genders with predetermined colours. Well, maybe the Blue Ninja Storm Ranger would provide more useful data to the Ninja Master and maybe, if he prodded enough times, he could explain why it was that a group of 'civilian' Ninja Academies not only knew who Zordon was but why they had constructed the Zords out of the wreckage of the 'First Gen' Thunderzords. He had a strange feeling the explanation would include images and speech flashing up in his mind again and would take somewhat longer to explain than the first time. Hunter looked up and crossed the floor, speaking in a low voice.

"Do you need help from us?"

Weihan shook his head and cleared his mind. There was pretty much only one course of action to take but, even though not doing it would jeopardize their identities tenfold, he was extremely reluctant. The past weeks, he had refined his mental spells and could erase memories from a specific date, time and – if need be – a period of time. However, such spells took up vast amounts of concentration and the effects could wildly spin out of control if the subject moved. He had heard news reports of several homeless people mysteriously losing all of their memories, save their name, and had publicly wondered what the cause was. He knew what the cause had been but to acknowledge it out loud…well, that was like figure skating on the edge of a razor. Blinking at the strange metaphor, he shook his head once more and looked at Michael. The boy was ranting about the news agencies that would pay for the information he had in his mind, overlooking the fact that his evidence had been destroyed.

Still, he couldn't be allowed free as his 'delusions' would swiftly turn into violence against those he perceived as the Rangers. Weihan had no desire to be stabbed again as this time; he wouldn't be in a position where he could readily heal himself quickly. Bleeding out was not a viable option in the future…which meant that was the only option available. Sending Michael to Phaedos or the Desert of Despair was also an option but the possibility of his gaining Ninja or Ninjetti Powers was a risk too great for him to take.

"No. From what you've told me, you guys are battling against Lothor pretty much weekly. You don't have the manpower to look after some idiotic monkey."

Hunter nodded, satisfied with the answer. He had a strange feeling that the battles against Lothor would be slowly intensifying until they built up to a swift and horrible release. He would be returning to Blue Bay Harbour later and he didn't really want any other thoughts clouding his mind. He said as much to the Orange Ranger, who nodded his thanks before moving to a console and punching a few buttons. However, before he could activate the teleport and beam the Crimson Ranger out of the Ultra Cavern, a tall girl with brown hair walked up to him and spoke. Thanks to his Ninja-enhanced hearing, Hunter could pick up on every word spoken.

"Can we leave now? I don't want my parents to worry and…well; I think Emma might have a meltdown if she's here any longer."

Weihan's finger hovered over the activation button for a few seconds more, before nodding and exhaling in a long breath. He had pretty much forgotten that both Tara and Emma hadn't had magical duplicates created for them and, as the Megazord battle was over, it wouldn't be long until their disappearance was noticed. He was glad that they wouldn't be sticking around to see what he would have to do as it would add much more fuel to the fire of their opposition. However, there was one person who was still connected to him that he didn't want to see falling into the same traps he would be facing. Long nights had been spent conversing with each other and, seemingly against his will, he could feel their link strengthening. Nodding slightly, he looked up into her face and smiled as much as he could. There was a strange emotion in her eyes, almost like the clear determination of Michael's but more refined somewhat…as if …No, he had to stop placing his thoughts and desires on others and let them make their own minds up.

"Yeah…I was going to 'port the two of you out anyway. I have a feeling you don't want to see what's going to happen next."

Tara smiled and nodded, the strange emotion in her eyes strengthening for a brief moment. She broke away from him to speak to the other Rangers and Weihan keyed in another set of co-ordinates to deposit the two girls back to the battle site. Of course, it would have to be away from any cameras that were still in operation and away from prying eyes. The park outside Stanton Library would have to cut it…even though there was a small Monster Shelter inside the Library. Well, the lights in the park hadn't worked since the first attack so the park would be shrouded in darkness. Tapping the first activation key, he looked up just in time to see a salute of sorts from Hunter as he dissolved into a streak of crimson light. Mentally wishing the Ninja Storm Rangers luck in their future battles, he made a note to lock the location of Blue Bay Harbour into the teleportation console. He had a strange feeling a battle or two would be fought there but, on the other hand, if it was anything too serious, he could count on Tommy and Kim rushing there in a flash.

He paused and looked at his hands. They were shaking. It was barely perceptible but he could feel the feelings churning his gut like a blender that was filled to the brim and switched to high. Although he had used his powers on random civilians, trees and monsters in the past, he felt genuinely unnerved at using it on someone who, apart from screaming and raving about how he was going to be rich off their identities, was a close partner of one of his Rangers. It made him glad and grateful that Ashley and Sam were still keeping quiet and that Alex hadn't yet been able to hold down a steady job or girl since Rachel had left for Phaedos. Of course, he was going to keep his promise to not tell the Black/Green Ranger that particular fact. Sensing someone behind him, he glanced over his shoulder to see Emma looking at him with a mixture of barely repressed concern and faint dislike. Catching his eyes on her, she flushed faintly and spoke in a low voice.

"Look, I'm still not OK with the whole 'Ranger Destiny' crap, but even I can see you need to deal with that guy. And, really, you don't need two civilians in your way."

Nodding faintly at her words, he was surprised when she leant in and quickly placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He was sure she could feel him shaking, but as she didn't say anything, he didn't want to ask. As Tara rejoined Emma, he gave the duo one final nod before sending them on their way back to 'reality'. Turning around, he surveyed the scene in front of him. Michael was still tied up but his shouts had tapered off into half-hearted sneers. Barring Liz, the other Crystal Rangers were keeping their distance from him and were actively fingering their Crystal Blasters…almost as if they were tempted to blast him into oblivion. Weihan let out a quiet sigh as he wondered which alternative would be better – to live with false memories or to die in an instant. Of course, given the choice, he would have chosen to live with false memories but they had a tendency to crack at the worst of times.

Opening a mental communication link to the rest of the Ultra Rangers, he outlined the situation so far and the steps he would take to rectify the situation. As expected, there was some opposition but, eventually, reason and the protection of their identities won out. As she was the second-in-command, Eliza was given the task of 'approving' the action through the communications system. Weihan would be giving her a quick mental call so she could do the 'intoning' that would give him the green light. He took a step towards the bound man before stopping and sighing once more. He had to do it now before the link became too strong for it to be broken. He had recurring nightmares of a strange and echoing voice in his head, a voice that reminded him of Xonix…but was subtly different. And if she was still connected to him…well, the consequences were too dire to think about. Swallowing hard to steel himself, he opened his mental link and spoke in a heavy voice.

**AJ, I think this is where we part.**

As expected, she replied instantly; her voice tinged with surprise and some degree of amusement.

We can't part, Sugarcube. You're linked to me…why do you say that?

Weihan paused and slowly began gathering the energies required for the spell. Thin tendrils of orange and red light began to swirl around his fingers and the air in the Ultra Cavern began to become magically charged. He inhaled sharply as the first portion of the spell snapped into place and he closed his eyelids just in time to hide the flash of orange light.

I…need to do something. I don't know if it'll work the way I want it to or not, but it's something that needs to be done no matter the consequences.

But…Ah mean, Ah know you can defeat the enemy in front of you if you…

He shook his head, although she couldn't see him and concentrated on her position. As expected, she was seated on the couch he had seen her on many times, watching countless replays of the Megazord battle. Even though the image on the screen was unfocused and grainy, he knew she could see it clearly. It was time to open up to a few hard truths and inform AJ of one of the reasons why the link couldn't be active any longer.

No. this enemy I can't defeat with normal means. I have a feeling that I'll be travelling down a dark and lonely road in the future and I don't want you to be caught up in any of this. You have enough on your plate as it is without worrying about me.

Ah…Ah don't understand but if you think it's the right thing to do…

He smiled as the image he had seen a long time ago flashed into his mind; the image of her smiling face as she embraced a man that wasn't him on a street somewhere. From the way her eyes were on the mysterious figure, it was clear that she hadn't spied him from whatever vantage point he was viewing her from. He smiled to himself and readied the link-breaking spell before 'speaking' once more.

When I've returned to myself and have exhausted all options, I'll come for you and make you mine once more. Aw man, that sounded more stalkerish than the first time.

He could hear her laugh through the link and tried to commit it to memory. Barring any conversations with Bree containing obscure code-words and secret signals, AJ would probably very likely never hear from them again until the time was right. He wondered what would have happened if he hadn't discovered the link and what would have happened if Xonix had been destroyed. Would he have gone through life always wondering about her or would he have eventually moved on? Shaking his head, he prepared to unleash the cut-off spell, when her voice came through once more.

Don't you go dyin' on me again. Ah love you and Ah will see you again.

I love you too, AJ.

Knowing if he waited any longer, he wouldn't be able to bring himself to do it; he activated the spell. There was a brief noise akin to heavy static and her warming presence faded from his mind for the last time. His shoulders sagged as a mix of regret and sadness rushed through his body and he looked up to see Bree looking at him strangely. He nodded wearily and her look of confusion changed into one of pained understanding. Although her sister would likely pry for information, he was sure that this would be one event that AJ wouldn't know about until the time was right. Well, at least he had something else to blame on Liz's boyfriend – even though it was a deed that would have had to be done sooner or later.

Composing himself, he walked forward toward the bound man and could feel the tingles around his fingers intensify as the memory spell reached the second, and critical, stage. Opening his mind to the others, he outlined the measures to be taken regarding what to do with Michael. Surprisingly, there was almost no opposition from Liz as she understood what needed to be done. She was also given the task of approving the action on the side of the Crystal Rangers…something that Weihan thought was either a very brave or stupid decision. Allowing his hands to rest on either side of his body, he walked in front of Michael and cleared his throat once.

"Mister Warwick. Look at me."

Michael looked up at the Asian who would be his ticket to the riches he deserved. He didn't look all that threatening and the light that was around his hands was probably some sort of hidden emitter or something like that. Even if he had turned into a Power Ranger or whatever, he was 'rule-bound' to not harm any humans; at least, that was what the Astro Rangers had told pretty much everyone. He opened his mouth to speak, but his mouth was suddenly and inexplicably dry…but it couldn't be from fear. The Orange Ranger wouldn't dare pull anything with Liz in front of him; his personal Ranger would shield him from any attacks. Licking his lips once, he opened his mouth to convey what he really thought when the Asian lifted his arms, showing that there was no light emitter hidden up his sleeves. A faint trickle of ice water wormed its way down his spine and he felt adrenaline start to pump through his body.

"Wait…what are you doing?"

The voice of the Ranger was low and grave.

"You cannot be trusted with the information you have witnessed and, thanks to the destruction of your phone, you have no evidence. However, you are still a very serious threat to our security and a decision has been made as to what to do."

Michael swallowed once more and looked at Liz for help. She didn't meet his eyes and he could see she was debating with herself on something. Whatever it was, it was a good sign that she would more than likely choose his side and be his queen in the new world they would create. A console near him crackled to life and he instinctively looked at it. A purple light flashed once before a feminine voice issued from the speakers. Apparently, one of the other Ultra Rangers was calling in or something but he would ensure they cast the Orange Ranger out for his 'blunder'. However, before he could speak, the voice spoke three words before the connection was cut off.

"Ultra Rangers approve."

Michael swallowed once more as the light or whatever it was intensified around the fingers of the Ranger. He looked around at the other Crystal Rangers and felt his guts tighten as, one by one; they nodded their approval of whatever was going to happen. He tried to struggle out of the ropes but, just like when he had first tried, they seemed to coil tighter around his body…which was impossible as ropes – even glowing ones – didn't move by themselves. A movement at the corner of his eye made him look up as the Crystal Rangers placed their helmets on their heads, including Liz. He felt a fresh torrent of fear rush through his body as Liz nodded slowly.

"Ivory Tiger approves. Do it."

Weihan nodded, silently relieved that Liz had made the correct decision. Even if she hadn't approved it, he would have done the spell anyway as the alternative would be for the energy to build up and wipe the minds of everyone 50 metres around him. That…wouldn't be the best thing to do. Placing his hands on either side of the boy's face, he lifted his head up and spoke in a hard tone.

"Michael Warwick, it is with a heavy heart that I must inform you of your fate, though you will forget about it soon. Your memory of the past few hours will be wiped and new memories will be inserted in their place. Please do not struggle as even the slightest movement on your part can cause the magic to spin out of control for a brief moment."

He closed his eyes and began the spell. He could 'see' the images of the past few hours from Michael's point of view and watched as the spell began scrubbing the memories away. He could feel Michael relax under his grip and allowed himself to release the tension in his body as the spell went to work. He kept telling himself this action was for the best and was the only course that could be taken, but he had serious doubts about that. As he had told AJ, he felt that the battles ahead would be filled with darker moments and he would be always looking over the precipice to an abyss. Falling into the abyss would mean he would lose all track of himself and become the monsters he fought against. Falling in meant he had finally lost control of his destructive impulses and was a danger to those around him, which would probably necessitate a recovery period off-world. Falling in…would mean the loss of everything and everyone around him – possibly permanently.

He only hoped he didn't fall.

TBC…


	29. 28: No Net Change

Chapter Twenty Eight: No Net Change

She still wasn't speaking with him.

Two days had gone by since the incident and Liz had reacted the hardest. Of course, it was a given that she would have, given her closeness with Michael but to not come to class for the two days was…well, it was difficult to say the least. At least she had an excuse with being with the family as they struggled to pull their life together but she was back for Friday at least. Weihan didn't pretend to understand how she was feeling but he had some idea. It wasn't really the same though as he could always teleport to San Angeles to see AJ whenever he wanted and they would both remember each other with much love. Liz's situation on the other hand…he shook his head and tried to think of the other bit of news he had received through the Dimensional Doorway. It was an after-action report on the most recent battle…and it concerned him greatly.

The battle had been rather tough for the Rangers to deal with as Night Shade had apparently taken it upon himself to look retrieve Gilda from her icy 'exile'. Whether or not he had retrieved Tricksy was up for debate as she hadn't been seen since her attack on the Changeling Lands. The monster, however, brought a chill of familiarity that ran through his entire body as it was a creature he would never forget. The Ogre, that had practically destroyed the old Thunderzords and had managed to cripple the upgraded versions, had somehow returned. Thankfully, whatever unholy force had resurrected it hadn't had the foresight to enlarge it right off the bat but, according to Billy, it had given them an extremely hard time. The images that had been sent over gave him serious chills as it seemed the creature had been crossed with scissors and, horrifyingly enough, a spider. It had taken a powerful strike from Billy for the monster to be defeated, but it had been a serious wake-up call for them. Although he tried desperately to dissuade the thoughts, a small part of his mind was slowly making the connections between Night Shade and Xonix. He had a feeling that he wouldn't like what came up.

"Anything yet?"

Looking up from his thoughts, he saw Bree looking curiously at him. The past two days had been hard on her as well, he knew. Continual calls from AJ to Bree had revealed to the blonde ex-reporter the drastic measures that had to be taken in order for their identities to be suppressed…and the fallout from said measures. From what Bree had told him, her sister had understood the method behind the supposed madness, but had seriously questioned the severity before her sister had set her straight. AJ had emailed him reassuring words, but chose to not get too involved with the current situation. Plus, it seemed like the leader of the incomplete Crystal Rangers was dangerously close to cracking under the pressure and she didn't want to make things worse with any careless words. He shook his head and glanced at the doors to the school, looking for the familiar form.

"No, nothing from Liz. I warned him though, you heard me warning him not to move or something like this would happen. It was always a possibility that the memories to be removed may be one or two days over but this…well, it's pretty much an extremely rare occurrence."

Of course, he was talking about the memory wiping and construction spell that had been applied to Michael. Although the first few seconds had been all right, the boy had started to strongly resist the magic working its way into his mind. To avoid a full memory wipe, Weihan had been forced to cast a binding spell to strengthen the ropes holding him. Unfortunately, this had meant there would be a very small amount of time in which the magic used for the mind wipe spell would be almost ten times as strong. The next thing any of them had known, there was a bright flash and the boy was out cold on the floor of the Ultra Cavern. He had created some 'evidence' to show to his parents and Liz volunteered to take him back to the battle scene…and his parents.

The only person who knew the full extent of the mental trauma was Liz as she had been close to the family and she wasn't really going to spill any details anytime soon. She was going through her 'Bad Future' event and he didn't want to do or say anything that would make her completely turn away from the Rangers or make her feel like everything was riding on her shoulders.

"They can still fight, right? Even without her as leader?"

"Yeah. The next Ranger in the Crystal's chain of command is Bec but I doubt she's feeling up to any leadership. Means I'll be leading the Crystals from now. Well, only until everything settles down."

She nodded and he briefly closed his eyes. He wondered what Zordon would have to say to him in this situation and he found himself wishing for the strange echoing voice that seemed to know everything. Of course, what would probably be said was how this was an issue that he had to solve himself; it was something that he already knew. He opened his eyes at Bree's sharp intake of breath to see Liz emerging from the college and make a direct beeline to the duo. The Ivory Tiger Ranger looked like she had a lot on her mind and was unsure as to what to do. Meeting her at the half-way point, he directed her into the alley near the school and looked around for eavesdroppers. Muttering a few words under his breath, he watched the air intently for the slight ripple-like effect that would mean the silencing spell had gone into effect. After a few seconds, he spoke.

"Liz, are you all right?"

She looked up at him, blinked and opened her mouth to answer. Her mind seemed to catch up to her mouth and she closed it again. Thoughts were rolling around in her mind in a complicated jumble and every single aspect of her world seemed to be buckling at her feet. The only person she could really turn to for advice was the same person who had changed Michael from the loving and kind person to someone who didn't even know what day it was. All right, maybe she was exaggerating a bit on the last point but she had a right to hold a tiny grudge against him, right? Shaking her head, she tried responding once more.

"I…no, I'm not. A small part of me thinks it was overkill but I know it was his fault for struggling. His parents accepted the explanation of the monster shooting a beam at him but…"

She swallowed hard as the memory of her now ex-boyfriend swam up in her mind's eye. The confusion and distress on his face had been heartbreaking to watch and she knew she would always carry the guilt inside her. It would be so easy to pin the blame on the Orange Ranger and assuage her feeling of guilt…but something held her back. She didn't know what it was but, whatever it was, it was holding her back and making her face her guilt and inner turmoil. It had been practically child's play to doctor up some footage of the monster shooting a beam of some sort at Michael as he pushed Liz out of the way of an attack. The fact that this act of 'bravery' had been recorded by the Rangers was praised by his parents but the person in question didn't remember it at all. In fact…she sighed to herself and spoke once more.

"He didn't recognise me. Of course he didn't recognise me. Two years of life experience…wiped out in an instant. His family are moving him to the Central Coast to some special facility there. They think the memories can be recovered but they can't…and I don't know if I want them to be recovered. I can't help to think if there was another way…"

Weihan nodded, stunned that two years of memories had been wiped out by the powerful magic. It had come to a shock that the light had been brighter than anticipated but as none of the others were experiencing any form of memory loss, the whole thing had been deemed a success. It had only been later that night when the first seed of doubt had been planted due to a secure text message sent from Liz's phone to them. She had only written one thing:

He remembers less

She hadn't come to class the next day and all attempts to communicate were met with non-response. The news reports surrounding the family hadn't shed any light, only that something had happened to their son that was the cause of a monster attack…which was stuff that they already knew about. Pushing all that out of his mind, he sighed and wondered what the 'other way' would have possibly been. With the loss of the hard evidence, Michael would have been labelled as one of the nutjob conspiracy theorists that kept insisting 9/11 was the work of aliens and that portals to the past were opening up in London. However, he would have become a danger to himself and would have constantly endangered himself by going into battles even when told not to. Of course, that was all conjecture, but he could have seen the boy doing such a dangerous act…just to unmask them once more. Looking around to see that the spell was still in effect, only seeing Bree at the edges, he spoke in a low voice.

"Liz, the world at large isn't ready to learn our identities. The identities of the Astro, Lightspeed and maybe Time Force Rangers are public because at those times, the world needed to know the people behind the helms. Well, now TJ's saying that the reveal of the Astro Rangers was done in the spur of the moment…but anyway, if all of Sydney knew that I became a Ranger a year into High School, there would be riots everywhere and we would be literally shackled to the government."

She nodded slowly, his words shedding light onto what she knew in her heart. She didn't want to be the pet lapdog of the Howard government and she surely doubted any of the others would want to be as well. She looked up at the sky and at the clouds that slowly moved across the sky and sighed once more. There had been a lot of changes occurring to her personal life and she needed space and time to deal with them. The only problem with this dilemma was explaining it to Weihan. The young man looked like he would understand her quandary but, at the same time, the Rangers needed her and…she was getting confused once more. Maybe she could ask for a trip to Equestria to get away from the Rangers and think, but Equestria had its own team of Rangers and she would be dragged into the fighting no matter what. She rubbed the back of her neck before opening her mouth to attempt an explanation of what she wanted.

"I get it, I really do but…how do I put this?"

She closed her mouth and rubbed the back of her neck. The words were in her mind but she couldn't get them out into the open. It was almost as if her throat and mouth had been replaced with hard-packed cotton wool. Licking her lips once again, she opened her mouth and tried to convey her meaning…but all that came out was a few disjointed squeaks and grunts. Frustrated, she looked into his eyes and tried to convey her desires through her eyes – the windows into the soul. Unfortunately, it seemed as if her windows had fogged up somehow and she growled in her throat. Somehow managing to see through her underperforming actions, the Orange Ranger chuckled quietly and placed a hand on her shoulder. Looking up into his eyes once again, she felt all of her doubts and insecurities melt away and she swallowed hard, suddenly afraid of what he was going to say.

"Take all the time you need. No rush, though. The bad guys will still be around."

As she blinked hard, Weihan chuckled once more. It was pretty clear to him that she wanted to take some time away from the Rangers, which was understandable given the events of the past few days. A small part of him even felt a sharp stab of jealousy towards her, as she was able to retreat from the world of the Rangers…whereas he had forged on ahead. On the other hand, at that time, he had been the only Ranger that could stand up to Xonix and he needed to form a team to ensure the Bad Future didn't happen. Circumstances were different in this situation and having an emotionally fragile Ranger leading a team wasn't good for anyone involved. Looking down at the sudden flash of light, he saw that she had summoned her Ivory Coin and was more than likely about to hand it over to him. Shaking his head, he closed his fingers over hers, ensuring that the Coin stayed within her possession. She looked at hem, confused by his action and he allowed one lopsided smile to flicker over his face as the silencing spell flickered out.

"Keep it. Who knows? Maybe you'll be the one to finally get Emma onto our side."

She smiled once more and walked out of the alley, only stopping once to nod at Bree. The redhead jogged up to him and looked quizzically at the retreating Ranger. She hadn't heard anything of what had been said prior to the big speech, but she guessed the Ivory Ranger had things on her mind that needed some time away from battles to sort through. Walking towards the entrance of the alley with the boy, she sighed and wondered what she would do if she was in the same situation. Turning her head towards the Orange Ranger, she was surprised to see a rather pensive look on his face and knew, from what her sister had told her about his moods, that he was more than likely dwelling on some of the darker aspects of his past. Knowing that she had to snap him out of whatever funk he was beginning to get in before it totally consumed his mind, she asked a question that had – to her mind – a rather obvious answer.

"Did ya really mean all that stuff you said?"

Wrenched out of his thoughts at the sudden question, Weihan turned to regard the young girl with a careful eye. Pausing at the alley's entrance, he looked around him once again and recast the silencing spell. Sitting down on the curb and adjusting his blazer, he nodded once as his internal 'Ranger Radar' registered a presence coming behind him. Opening up a subtle link that would allow whoever it was to listen into his words, he inhaled deeply and began speaking.

"Yeah, I did. The world isn't ready and I doubt it will be for a very long time. Maybe in the future when we're all dead, they'll understand the reasons but as the world is now...not going to happen. The world is too disjointed and split for any real understanding to take place. In a hypothetical situation, if we revealed our identities to the world tomorrow, there would be a brief surge in support for the cause of the Rangers. We would be invited everywhere to have dinner with everyone in any position of importance and we would be the talk of the town for the next few months. The world would love us and, for a while, we would be true heroes.

Then the questions would start up. Why didn't we do this? Why didn't we save him or save her from death? Why did we say we were only concerned about defeating monsters when the Power Rangers save people and destroy monsters? Governments around the world would begin pressuring us to fight their wars and soon, Ultra Rangers would be fighting Ultra Ranger because the man with the leash said so. If any civilian deaths ensued, the governments would wash their hands clean of any involvement and state that we were the only ones to blame. The location of the Ultra Cavern would be pinned down and we would be forced to watch the governments of the world divvy up our resources to fund their campaigns of global warfare. Heaven forbid we actually rebel against the government as we would be seen as the enemy and be more than likely forced to leave Earth.

Even that wouldn't work as we would have to take our families and friend groups with us to ensure they weren't harassed. We would live in Earth's orbit but, eventually, we would become so fed up that we would leave Earth to be taken over by Xonix or whatever evil force of the day popped up. Later we would take Earth back by force but I'm getting ahead of myself. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make here is that the Ultra Rangers hold, and have pretty much always held, the short end of the stick. There are no revolving enemies for us to beat – only one who is continually getting stronger to match us. Twelve Rangers spread out everywhere wasn't going to cut it this year and the Crystal Coins revealed themselves. I have my doubts that nineteen Rangers will be enough in a few years, but we don't even have nineteen now. With Liz on leave until further notice, we only have fourteen Rangers on standby."

"Make it fifteen."

Bree's head whipped around to stare at Tara as she drew closer. The girl looked nervous but calmed at the same time, as if she had made a life-changing decision. That was probably the case as she had been seen on the computers looking up various news reports of the Ultra Rangers from the very beginning to the most recent attacks. As Weihan didn't seem surprised or shocked she had been listening in, he probably knew of her decision already and had made the proper preparations. The Orange Ranger stood up and brushed himself off before turning to regard Tara. Not even flinching once at the intensity of his gaze, she nodded once and opened her mouth to affirm her decision.

"I'm ready to join."

TBC…


	30. 29: New Deal

Chapter Twenty Nine: New Deal

So nothing had changed.

Jabarkas turned away from the viewscreen and rubbed the top of his head. The first two monsters that had come out of their time-delayed 'cells' were weak and had been utterly useless in defeating the new team of Rangers; though he wasn't sure any creature he could send down would do better. Pausing in mid-step to think about the very much unlamented Goark, he shook his head and went to check on the Golem construction. Without Xonix's power to animate them for long periods of times, they were looking into ways which other foot soldiers could be created and what staying power they would have. He wasn't so sure about Twinlobe's idea for the so-called 'Amorphids' was rather interesting but they would have to work on the colour scheme and the…lack of facial features. Master Xonix would not be pleased with a light brown humanoid creature with three holes in the head. Maybe if they were able to shoot out some of the energy they stored…

He was brought out of his musings by a strange humming sound that was coming from outside. Equally perplexed as to how the shields hadn't immediately disintegrated any unwanted intruders, he walked to the balcony and looked out – just in time to see a strange armour-plated ship land on the rocky ground. Leaping from the ledge, Jabarkas summoned his battleaxe to him as his feet hit the rocks below. He could hear the slight crackle of teleportation as a small group of Fiends warped in to assist him but he doubted anything would survive one of the first blows. The hatch swung open slowly and the warrior readied himself for anything.

"Jabarkas, I…was not expecting a welcoming committee."

He blinked at the strange voice and relaxed as he placed it. Lowering his weapon, he gave the signal for the Fiends to stand down as the speaker emerged from the shuttle. Looking like a strangely humanoid medieval torture device, Lyncherot was one of the most experienced weaponsmiths in the known Universe. His precision with his tools was legendary and it was rumoured by many that he had an evolving computer for a brain. Jabarkas had scoffed at the rumours as he knew better. Lyncherot was actually one of the earliest monsters ever created and had even fought against the four Rangers that had sealed Drakor. However, a close encounter with one of the Rangers' weapons had coated his body in strange nanobots that none had been able to remove. Around ninety percent of his internal structure was now mechanical but small bursts of his original personality shone through the cold exterior occasionally. He had sworn that he would never rest until the Ranger that did this to him had been hunted down and killed.

The metallic creature turned around to pull something from the inside of the shuttle as Jabarkas watched. He had absolutely no idea what the master smith was doing on the moon. As the monster struggled with the item, a thought wormed its way into his mind of using Lyncherot to destroy the Rangers…but the idea was shot down as soon as it formed. There was no way it could work and nothing he could offer to allow the monster to fight for him. After all, the first of his recruited monsters was due to arrive any day now. Striding to help the smith with the object, he spoke in the most congenial voice he could muster.

"Apologies, friend. I was not aware you were coming in so soon."

Lyncherot tilted his head to one side and calculated several factors in his mind. Although he tried to stop it from coming out, the monotone and computerised voice of his inner 'robot' came out of his mouth.

"It is approximately seven months, three weeks, two days and seventeen hours since you recruited me. I remember informing you that I needed less than eight months to perform the necessary refinement and strengthening. Solid lumps of Dark Spectre's blood are not easy to come around in the Universe anymore."

Jabarkas' eyes widened as he looked at the object, now revealed in the light of the Sun. It looked like a simple blade with no cross-guard, but he knew it was much more than that. His personal blade had been all but shattered in the battle against the Rangers but, under the cover of night and a fierce hailstorm, he had retrieved the pieces before setting out in his trek across the stars. Lyncherot had seen the damage on one of his many stopovers and had agreed to fix the damage and create a brand-new weapon that would still retain the functionality of his old dagger. He didn't know why he had agreed as the axe he had…acquired was suitable for his needs. Of course, he hadn't had any practice with wielding axes since Huran…but that was neither here nor there. With steady hands, he picked up the blade and stepped back to admire its simple design. He could feel the power radiating from the blade and could even see the design that had been etched in to emulate Dark Spectre's skin pattern.

Twirling it around in his hands, he could feel a series of depressions in the handle – meaning that the weapon would have the transformation ability that had been alluded to. Turning on the balls of his feet, he faced the group of Fiends and pressed the first button his fingers found. There was a sound akin to hissing gas and the metal of the blade began to shift and warp in rather strange ways. The end result was a blade that looked like a double-edged saw. Well, a double-edged saw that pulsed with the 'light' of Evil. Snapping the blade back to its original shape, Jabarkas chuckled darkly under his breath as he imagined what it would feel like sliding between the ribs of the Orange Ranger and sending him to his second, and more permanent, death.

"It is to your specifications and everything is intact, even the transformation capability."

Pulling out his battleaxe once more, and questioning his need to have dismissed it in the first place, the Hurantic warrior placed the blade over the connecting shaft between the axe heads and pressed one of the buttons. As if reacting to the darkness that flowed within the weapons, the connecting shaft retreated into itself, showing that the axe heads were still connected by a rather thin rod of the highest quality Zycordian Silver. The handle of the blade slid into the gap created almost effortlessly and began glowing with power. Hurriedly shifting his hands to the lower part of the shaft, Jabarkas twirled the weapon and slammed it into the ground in front of the Fiends. There was a brief pause before the ground under the grunts exploded with a geyser of purple-black flames. Separating the weapons, Jabarkas looked back and nodded his approval.

"Payment is required…however, I am curious of the Rangers you mentioned. I believe I can assist you with destroying them. However, this will not waive your full fee."

Jabarkas fought hard to not allow the grin to spread over his face. It seemed as if his earlier grumbles about the Rangers had piqued the interest of the warrior that was hidden beneath the machinery. Of course, it wouldn't pay for the designing and constructing costs entirely but he had a small plan for that as well. It was extremely risky and depended on several things sliding into place at exactly the same time, but if it could be pulled off…well, multiple openings for future plans would begin to come into fruition. From the back of his minds swam an image of the electronic flyer Lyncherot had produced. There was one thing that had the words **Fully Built** stamped near it, but he had only given it a cursory glance. After all, when a Master Weaponsmith gave you a list of options to repair a blade, you really didn't want to look at the other things.

"Let's make it interesting then. If you manage to kill one Ranger, I will place an order for the most expensive item on your list."

Lyncherot's eyes seemed to bug out of his head, which was rather impressive as the creature didn't really have any eyes to speak of – just a long and thin visor with three lights that bounced rhythmically off each other. Poorly regaining his composure, the monster pulled out a strange, flat device from the wall of his shuttle and looked at the warrior thoughtfully. His voice was low and filled with a slight amount of mistrust.

"The Plane Crosser? You will need an immense amount of power to work it and it can only be used a maximum of three times before it becomes inoperable. Even I am not sure if I can fix it in such a state."

Jabarkas nodded, filing away the information for future use. The name would imply that it could cross dimensional planes, including any number of Hell dimensions. Sure, there was no doubt that the humans would be able to push back the invading forces of darkness eventually, if that one video game was any indication, but for the first few weeks at least, nothing would stop them from their rampage. Placing the sheathed blade behind him, he nodded thoughtfully and held up a hand to stave off the comments he knew were coming.

"I know and you will not have to worry. Is it fully constructed?"

"It is and I hid it on the planet below. My associate, Dream Weaver, is guarding the location and has been doing so for the past five hundred years. In the event of my destruction, he will immediately beam the Plane Crosser to you – irregardless of payment – and will embark on a mission of vengeance."

Dream Weaver, he had heard the name before somewhere but didn't know where. If Lyncherot's associate would go on a rampage after delivering the Plane Crosser, it would be no consequence to him whether he lived or died. He would provide some assistance in the form of a few Golems or Fiends but that was all the help he would be receiving. Then again, even that hinged on the dealer in front of him being destroyed rather easily by the Rangers…something that wasn't likely to happen. Still, he would see if there was a way that…he stopped himself from thinking any more of that thought.

"Well then, let's wait a few days and then you can test your strength."

"Consider it done, my Lord."

Everything was falling into place.

TBC…


	31. 30: Completion

Chapter Thirty: Completion

"You had them lying around in storage?"

Weihan looked at Ninjor incredulously as Daphne and Tara marvelled at their new Zords. The Ninja and Zord Master had teleported into the Ultra Cavern, claiming that there were three finished Zords lying around in storage and gathering dust. When they had been revealed, the Orange Ranger was astonished to see the remaining three Crystal Dinozords gleaming in the lights of the Cavern. The Ninja Master had the grace to look sheepish, although no one could tell with the emotionless helmet and he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, well, I had them all finished and the energies were in them and I thought they would look better here instead of in the Temple. Less chance of large spiders in the joints and also less chance of Rachel tripping over the claws…well, the odds of her doing that are practically nil anyway."

He shook his head to clear the babble from the flustered Ninja and looked at the Crystal Dinozords once again. Like the others, the Topaz Sabre Tiger and the Ruby Tyrannosaurus looked like the original Dinozords but had slight differences to differentiate them from their predecessors. The legs, tail and body of the Ruby Tyrannosaurus actually had more in common with Paris' Ultra Dinozord or the other Jason's upgraded Dinozord as it was stockier and hinted at slightly more mass beneath the armour. Ninjor had mentioned that the Ruby Tyrannosaur came with 'extra features' but was being uncharacteristically tight-lipped about what they were. However, based on what he could see, Weihan wasn't going to be surprised if it could turn into its own Warrior mode or secondary Megazord configuration. He was certain that it could combine with the other Dinozords to create an 'Original Megazord' but that would have to remain to be seen as the 'Core Three' had been already determined.

On the other side of the equation, the Topaz Sabre Tigerzord looked more like a slightly upgraded version of the original Sabre-toothed Tiger Dinozord, a fact that had brought much amusement to Trini – who was in the Ultra Cavern for some upgrades to her and Zack's communicators. The Topaz Crystal Ranger had even invited the original Yellow Ranger into the cockpit, where Trini had noted the extreme similarity. From the looks of things, everything seemed intact and battle-ready; though Weihan had a strange and sinking feeling they would be put to the test in the next battle. He looked over in the corner, where the last Crystal Dinozord stood forlornly and sighed.

The Emerald Dragonzord looked absolutely brilliant in the light. While the original Dragonzord – and even Sarah P's Ultra Dragonzord – looked like Godzilla in variations of samurai armour, the Crystal Dragonzord looked much different. Still having the same shape and structure, it now towered over the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord and literally bristled with multiple weapons systems. Even the drill at the end of the tail had changed to look more menacing, having serrated blades and the barest hint of red to accent the sheer brutality of the weapon. Emma would have to join up before they could see the Zord in action and it didn't seem like she was going to do so anytime soon. She had even been seen talking to Liz and asking her a multitude of different questions – the most prominent being what everything would be like if the Power Rangers didn't exist. He was leery of that query as it was something that could easily come true if Jabarkas sent down a monster that caused wishes to come true.

"Everything can join up into one giant combination. I even included connectors for the carrier Zord if you want to break it out of the mothballs. Or maybe you already have it out…did you use it again after you stormed the Moon Fortress?"

Weihan shook his head as he thought of the majestic Carrier Zord that was now a permanent addition to Rachelle's powers and sighed. In the past few hours, their relationship had all but crumbled away but he knew it was something that was coming for a long time. Ranger relationships were doomed to failure unless the personal issues were left out of the battles. Tommy and Kim were the only couple who had achieved some degree of success, Rocky and Kat having broken up a few years ago due to differing paths. On the plus side, it meant he was free to pursue relationships with other girls…although it was most likely going to be nothing more than casual sex with Karone. On the downside, if he wanted to look elsewhere, civilian girls would have to have their minds wiped when they decided to break up. it would certainly allow his magic to strengthen exponentially, but one wrong move could force attention onto him…something he didn't want happening. He was already leery about what his mother had told him before he had received the call from Ninjor.

There had been a rather conspicuous black van outside the house for the past few weeks. Of course, it could have to do with the construction work going on at the building across the street…but it also could have to do with the government. He had considered placing a tracking device of some kind on the vehicle but, until he managed to shrink it down small enough, it would be spotted in an instant. Some of the neighbours had also reported strange business suit-clad men getting in and out of the van at various intervals. It would possibly be too conspicuous if he ringed the vehicle with his Zords, so until he came up with a better solution…it would have to remain an enigma for now. Pushing those thought away from the forefront of his mind, he looked to Tara once more. The girl had said she wanted to be 'part of something bigger than herself', but it seemed like she had said the words without considering the underlying meaning. Walking up to the awestruck girl, he waited for her to turn around before speaking.

"You sure you want to do this?"

Noticing the slightly grim expression on the Asian boy's face, Tara nodded once. She had heard what he had said not too long ago about what would happen if the identities of the Rangers were ever made public and, for the first time in her life, she had actually wanted to be a part of something. Her previous negativity had been her own thoughts about how she had thought the Ultra Rangers to be nothing more than carefree people with little to no regard about the consequences of their actions. Almost as if the Power Rangers were the parents and the Ultras were the rambunctious children. However, the actions of her friends over the past few weeks had slowly started to place doubts into her mind…which had all culminated in the events of Liz's birthday and the ferocity she saw the Ultra and Crystal Rangers defending the public.

"Look, I know I was a bit vague with my reasoning but I am completely dedicated to the cause now. If I were to do anything else in my life, it wouldn't hold any true meaning. Sure, a job that rakes in the cash would be good in the short term but it wouldn't do anything for me. You know what I mean, right?"

He chuckled under his breath and nodded once. Throwing an arm around her shoulders, he began to lead her into what he was beginning to call the Main Chamber, followed by the other Rangers and Ninjor. Stepping back from the potential Ranger, he looked up and mentally accessed the external lights on his Dinozord. The twin beams of light flicked on and a slight groaning was heard as the Utahraptor Dinozord slowly bowed its head, bathing them in an orange-yellow light.

"Yeah. All right. You've seen your Zord, let's initiate you into the Rangers."

He looked to Ninjor, wondering if the Ninja Master would want a better vantage point to see the Crystal Powers being granted to a person. Unfortunately, the Ninja Master must have thought that he was asking him to grant the powers as he held his hands up and took a small step back.

"Me? No, it's your team and your strength has to come from within and not without…whatever that means."

Weihan opened his mouth to throw a retort back at the Ninja Master but closed his mouth as the words registered. Strength coming from within and not without…those were the words that had come from the bad future he had been thrust into, one where the world had been under the grip of evil for far too long. He had done what he had to do to bring hope back into the world and had taken the words and lessons to heart before coming back to his own time. A familiar face swam up through his mind and he smiled internally. His great-whatever granddaughter would probably never be born within his lifetime but he could be fighting for a better tomorrow for her sake. Shaking himself out of those melancholic thoughts, he opened his mouth once more and spoke.

"All right, Tara Lin, please step forward."

As she did, he pulled out his Ultra Crystal and allowed the Ruby Tyrannosaurus Crystal Coin to emerge from its depths. Without touching the Coin, he pulled his Crystal back and looked at the glassy surface, almost as if he was looking for hints to what the future held. As always, the images that presented themselves didn't change – something that was both comforting and mildly frustrating. He still saw himself looking at AJ on a street somewhere, strange flashes of a battle involving eleven Ultra Rangers and a strange sight that showed three armour-clad Ranger look-alikes. He sincerely hoped the last image didn't have anything to do with the van or he would personally ensure that it was shut down for good. Opening his mouth, he spoke once more and mentally commanded the lights to dim a fraction.

"You have been chosen by the Ruby Tyrannosaurus Crystal Coin to be its champion against Evil. The battle will be hard and you will not receive any direct thanks. However, I cannot make the decision for you. I can only guide you onto whatever path you choose."

Tara nodded absently and looked at the slowly spinning disc in the air. This was what she wanted to do with her life. Lifting her arm up, she extended her hand towards the spinning Coin and plucked it out of the air. As her fingers automatically closed around it, she felt the air around her body crackle with electricity as a distant roaring echoed through the Ultra Cavern. Bringing her closed fist inward to rest against the centre of her chest, her eyes closed as images flashed through her mind's eye. Countless Red Rangers appeared before her with their arms outstretched as they seemed to impart upon her a measure of their energy and strength. She didn't really know what sort of power a pony could grant her but she accepted it anyway.

A hush fell over the watching Rangers as the first sparks began to dance over Tara's body. They seemed to emanate from the Crystal Coin and the watching Rangers held their breaths. Slowly and in ever so slightly increasing increments, the energy bolts began to flow faster and faster until it seemed Tara was covered in a cocoon made from solid red energy. All of a sudden, the energy stopped flowing and leapt off her body like a jumping spider…but the cocoon still remained behind. It reminded Weihan of the combined Zeo Crystal, with the way it reflected the light shining from directly above. Soft cracks could be heard as the assembled Rangers slowly took a collective step back to avoid any flying projectiles.

The cocoon shattered away to reveal a Red Crystal Ranger in its place. To the Orange Ranger, the visor looked less like Paris' and more like his own or even Twilight's when she was in her Dragonfire Ranger Armour. Like the other Crystal Rangers, the details on the helmet looked like they had been hand-carved from the stones that the Ranger was powered from. There were no major deviations from the suit and it had the strange shoulder and half-torso armour that the others had. Of course, Tommy had laughed his ass off when he had seen the armour but he agreed that it made some degree of sense and looked a hell of a lot better than the designs he had cooked up. The diamond in the centre of her chest was a rich and deep red in colour, almost like the colour of Cabernet Sauvignon and enhanced the light red of the rest of the suit. Tara blinked at the displays on her HUD and lifted her hands to the sides of her helmet, feeling for the concealed clasps. Pulling it off her head, she looked to see the beaming faces of the others…and the proud expression on Weihan's face. Waiting for the cheers and congratulations to die down, the Orange Ranger cleared his throat and spoke directly at her once more.

"Welcome to the team, Ruby Tyrannosaurus."

TBC…


	32. 31: Moth Man

AN: Short chapter here to set up the next arc…and a foray into the world of my story on Fictionpress 'Moth' (name is Coin Master there).

Chapter Thirty One: Moth Man

"Did you find out what they wanted?"

Weihan shook his head as he watched the two detectives walk away. Closing the door, he turned to his mother and thought about the odd encounter. It turned out that he didn't have to see what the fuss was regarding the black van as two detectives had come to ask him a few questions about the guy who had lived in the house. They had also cleared up the question of the building works as cleaning the crime scene. Of course, the guy had been killed weeks ago, so the question of why they were only clearing up the scene now was prominent in his mind. The fact that Olivia's sister was a detective investigating the case wasn't a surprise, but the way she had grilled him was.

"Something about the death of that Paul Murphy guy a few weeks ago. And with the other strange deaths that have been happening that aren't monster-related…"

He let his sentence trail off as he suppressed a yawn. He had spent practically the entire night at the Ultra Cavern seeing what Tara could do with her Tyrant Blade, which looked like the other Jason's powered up Power Sword. She seemed to pick up on the information the Power provided pretty speedily but he could see that she was just going through the motions and there wasn't any real weight to the strikes of the girl just yet. He had put her through a rigorous training session on the Simul-Deck that had included a bout against Goldar, the Wolf Wraith and even a heavily toned down version of Psychogre. The downside was that he was now incredibly tired, having only had about three hours sleep, and was hoping he hadn't said anything he shouldn't have said. Dismissing the thought with a shake of the head, he looked up to where his mother was looking at him.

"You should have come back earlier. I'm sure she could have trained on her own."

He shook his head with a sigh. On one hand, it was cool that his mother knew of his 'extra-curricular activities' and she could cover for him whenever he didn't have the foresight to create a magical duplicate. On the other, she kept worrying about him all the time and had even questioned the need for him to be recruiting a brand new team to fight Xonix. He had taken her aside and patiently listened to her worries and fears and explained to her that he needed a new team as the Ultra Rangers were practically scattered throughout Sydney. Plus, there was no iron-clad guarantee that they would stick together in the future. Eliza had told him that she was thinking of moving to Darwin with Ashley at the end of 2004 and a few others would be jetting overseas for further education. As William Blue would offer many students a direct line into any Sydney-based hotel of their choosing to work with, it would be useful for the girls to stay in one place.

That had seemed to placate her, but those thoughts had stirred up a hornet's nest inside his mind. As it stood, Jabarkas was as strong as he was ever going to get. From what he had heard from reports coming out of Blue Bay Harbour, Lothor was slowly increasing in strength but the Ninja Storm Rangers would be all right for the time being. The only wildcard in the equation would be Xonix and his eventual return. He didn't know if Xonix could get any stronger, but he was willing to bet the alien could. If the Ultra Powers could evolve and grow to overcome whatever challenges and obstacles were placed in their path, there wasn't anything to say Xonix didn't work on the same system. It was something for him to mull over for another time; however, it seemed that outside forces were spiralling out of his control.

"Maybe but it's good that I was there. Plus, it's not like there's going to be an attack on a Saturday after all. For some reason, Saturday is the day the bad guys never attack. Doubt it's going to change now with the management shift."

At her nod, he sighed and stretched his arms up over his head. The day would more thank likely be spent at home doing housework or in front of the computer researching that strange names Olivia's sister had accidentally dropped. If need be, he could even call up Wes in Silver Hills to see if Bio-Lab knew who this 'Frank Westron' guy was. Walking into the living room, he stole a half-glance at the TV and felt his blood turn to ice. He swallowed hard and turned up the volume, cursing himself for tempting fate.

"And if you're just joining us, we have chaos in the streets of the city as a strange iron man, not to be confused with the comic book character, is tearing through the streets. This is the first time ever that an attack on a Saturday has taken place and it has taken many shoppers unawares."

He almost didn't have call the others as his communicator began chiming an instant later. Never taking his eyes off the screen, he started issuing orders.

"Any Ultra Rangers in the vicinity, help with the evacuation effort. Crystal Rangers, engage the monster. We can't have any civilian deaths on our hands."

A smattering of acknowledgements answered and he smiled to himself despite the dire situation. If there was any reason that he had to leave the planet or dimension at a moment's notice, he was sure he could count on the Rangers to help each other. Looking behind him, he could see the concerned face of his mother alternating between the glow of Power surrounding his body and the images on the screen. He could hear the announcer alerting the viewers that the Ultra Rangers and the new Crystal Rangers had arrived on the scene and was engaging the monster. Another announcer chimed in with news of the Ruby Tyrannosaurus Ranger that had been seen and the absence of the Ivory Tiger Ranger. As they began speculating where the Rangers had come from, he nodded slowly.

"I need to go."

She nodded and he brought his Ultra Crystal out of his chest. Holding it above his head, he inhaled deeply as thunder rumbled outside. He hoped his voice didn't carry to the two detectives outside or else he would be forced to answer more uncomfortable questions. On the other hoof, if it was Olivia's sister who was asking, he wouldn't mind answering them. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he began his morph.

"Ultra Crystal, Energise!"

TBC…


	33. 32: Open Time

Chapter Thirty Two: Open Time

It was chaos in Martin Place.

The metallic or robotic monster shot at everything and everyone within its field of vision and didn't look to be stopping anytime soon. Weihan knelt on the top of the bank across the road and watched the Rangers attack the monster. Zooming in, he could see the monster was covered with some sort of armour which blocked or deflected all attacks. The Crystal Rangers were making very little headway into defeating the creature and hadn't even begun to channel more energy into their weapons. Shaking his head at that thought, he switched on the radar to see who was where. The other eleven Ultra Rangers were doing their part to evacuate any civilians still in the area, taking pot-shots at the monster whenever they could. While their attacks didn't do much damage, they wee slowly having a cumulative effect. The only problem was the damage being done was like the equivalent of a bite from a regular house ant, so it wouldn't affect the monster much…if at all. Waving his hand at a moth that flittered across his visor, he summoned his Raptor Sabre and backed up a short amount.

Running at the edge of the bank's roof, he leapt over the street and pulled out his Raptor Laser in one fluid motion. Some small part of his mind screamed that the Raptor Cannon would provide some degree of a mightier kick, but he dismissed the thought and fired a few lasers at the metal man. As expected, the blasts ricocheted off the armour and kicked up sparks upon impact with the pavement. Seeing the monster was somewhat distracted, he converted his Sabre into its laser whip mode and cracked it over the head of the creature. He was dimly aware of a small group of Golems and Fiends teleporting in, but his attention was drawn to the strangely medieval monster. It seemed that what he had thought was armour plating was actually its skin and it seemed to be…rippling. Dodging a slash from a Fiend, he wrapped the whip around the monster and discharged a fiery burst into it before spinning away from the battle. Bec jogged up to him and pointed at the recovering monster.

"What do we do? Our attacks just bounce off the guy!"

Shaking his head, the Orange Ranger focused more energy into his Raptor Laser and fired the powered bolt into the monster. Surprisingly, it didn't bounce away but exploded against the skin of the beast. The metallic man roared in surprise and pain as sparks flew off its body. Allowing a surprised grin to break over his face for the briefest of moments, he nodded at his efforts.

"Channel more power into your weapons to try breaking through his armour. We need to get him away from civilised areas."

Bec nodded and he could see a thin tendril of black energy snake down her arm and into the pistols gripped in her hands. Kicking a Golem away from her, she strafed to the left and fired repeatedly at the creature, knocking it away from the civilians that were being evacuated. Holstering his Laser, he reformed his Sabre before flipping over the heads of several Golems to attack the monster directly. Metal met metal as the creature pulled out a blade seemingly from nowhere to block his downward stroke. Pushing against the blade, the Ranger wryly thought that he shouldn't start his attack movement at the apex of his leap. Dodging the blasts that were flying all around him, he rolled along the ground to slash at the legs of the creature. Wincing at the reverberating sound that followed, he shook his head and made a mental note never to do that again. Bringing up his Sabre to scrape along its chest, he kicked the creature away from him and flung a fireball directly at its head. He doubted there would be any organic parts for him to destroy, but he could always hold onto that small hope that the eyes would be unshielded.

However, when the smoke cleared, he suppressed a groan as he saw that the fireball had done no apparent damage to the eyes…or even to the metal the monster was made of. Shuddering once more as its skin rippled with that strange effect, he brought his blade to bear once more. However, he was surprised as the monster stiffened somewhat…almost as if it were processing some new information. A few seconds later and a strange, almost robotic, voice issued from the monster. He could have sworn it sounded shocked or even surprised to see him, but as far as he knew, they had never met.

"No, it cannot be! You…impossible!"

Lyncherot processed the data rapidly as his mind accessed memory banks long since forgotten. One of the first images he had recorded had been of a slightly taller Ranger twirling two short dagger-like weapons. The armour was vastly different than what he saw in front of him, but if it was the same person underneath…well, that was an opportunity too good to pass up! He took one step towards the Ranger when the logical part of his mind whirred to life once more – making him pause in mid-step. The Ranger he had faced was more than likely long since dead so he wouldn't be attacking the Ranger himself, just one of his descendants. Resigning himself to his revenge being nothing but a fool's hope, he rushed towards the Ranger and slashed down with his arm blade. The Ranger ducked and rolled out of the way in a manner that struck another familiar chord in Lyncherot's memory. Shaking off the uncertainty once more, the monster pressed forward in his attacks, swinging wildly and erratically in all directions.

The images playing in his memory were suddenly overlaid on his right eye and Lyncherot had to focus to avoid the strikes of the Rangers' attacks. Three freezing blasts caught him across the left shoulder and he shut off the processors in that sector while re-routing the available power into his self-repair functions. Being slowly and painfully turned into a machine had its perks sometimes but he would never forget the attack and the strange cloud that had swarmed in and around him like moths. Now that he had more than ten thousand years to think about it, the feeling of the cloud swarming around him had felt strange…almost as if they had known where they were meant to be. Lyncherot looked up to see the Orange Ranger take a very familiar stance, one that almost made him look exactly like the Ranger he was seeing in his right eye. His breath hitched in his throat and the familiar rage started to well up in his body. The only difference was the weapon – a broadsword, compared to the dagger weapons – but everything else was the same…if less refined.

"Yes…it is very familiar. The weapon and style is different but it is you!"

Weihan swallowed hard under his helmet and tried to not let his fear get the better of him. This wasn't like the other monsters and mindless creatures that Jabarkas, Xonix or Zedd had sent down; instead it was a being that apparently had some history with him. He scoured his memory, wondering if it had somehow seen him in the Bad Future and had been inadvertently pulled through the portal with him. He dismissed the thought as he circled the monster warily as he hadn't been attacked by any strange metal monsters after coming back to the present. He had been attacked, but Payroach didn't really count as a serious threat. A trickle of sweat ran down his face as his mind worked fast. If it wasn't in the future that meant it would be in the past; rather, it would be in the monster's past and his future. He willed himself to think of anything else before the headaches could start. Time travel seriously messed with his mind but he had learned to not worry about the future…even though he was still haunted somewhat by the strange voices that he had heard.

Giving a silent signal to the others to stay back, he readied himself…only to see the monster nowhere to be seen. Apparently none of the other Rangers had seen it vanish which meant it either had some sort of teleportation technology that was built-in or…he didn't want to know. Hearing a sound above him, he dove to the ground just as a series of metallic bullets impacted on the ground. They exploded into tiny shrapnel and he hissed in pain as he felt them slam into the unarmoured parts of his suit. A strong hand wrapped around his throat and he dropped his Sabre, clawing at the monster's hands as they lifted his body in a choke hold. The amount of surprised joy coming from the voice of the monster was almost palatable.

"I do not believe my luck! I was cursed because of you and now…"

Weihan struggled to speak. The grip around his neck was crushing his windpipe but he knew the Power wouldn't allow him to die a second time without a massive fight. It was now very clear to him that the monster was talking about an event that he was yet to experience, one that had left an indelible impression on the creature. As he struggled to free himself, a random thought flashed into his mind and his struggles ceased for the briefest of instants. If he were to die a second time here, there would be a possibility of whatever had befallen the monster in the past wouldn't happen. That could mean the monster would die in an attack that it had survived thanks to whatever had happened and wouldn't be here in the present to kill him…and everything was starting to make his head hurt more than the lack of oxygen. As a precaution, he attempted to channel more power to the armour around his neck to keep his bones safe and intact. A few seconds later, the monster violently snapped his arm back and slammed him into the ground. Sucking in a lungful of fresh air, Weihan choked out his reply.

"The hell are you talking about?"

Lyncherot shook his head and grinned evilly, trying to not let his uneasiness show. As he had been squeezing the neck of the Ranger tighter, he had felt a strange sense of light-headedness and had felt a dull ache in his abdomen. He had recalled a battle that he had been a part of where a blade had stabbed him through the stomach. Of course, he had learnt soon after that his internal organs had changed to mechanical replacements but the medic had said that it had probably saved his life. He internally groaned as he realised that there was no way he could afford to kill the Orange Ranger as he was right now. However, there were alternatives…

"It is of no matter to you. You will finally die here and I will get my revenge!"

The monster stepped forwards and readied its arm blade. Weihan shook the remnants of the pain away and extended his right hand to his fallen Sabre. Ensnaring the handle with magic, it leapt into his hand as he brought his arms up to block the strong overhead slash. Pushing his legs up, he pushed the monster away from him and smashed his left foot into its torso. Transforming his Sabre into the fire blade, he twirled it through the air and brought it down on the monster's left shoulder. Pushing down on the blade, he felt the armour bend and, defying everything he had bothered to learn about the properties of heated metal, splinter apart. With a yell of rage, he powered his blade down and out – cutting a long gash deep into the robotic creature. He saw a flash of red out of the corner of his eye and drew back for another attack. The monster tried to roll out of the way, but was cut off from escape by a volley of ice blasts from Bec and Alex. The metallic creature tried to lunge at him once more but screeched in pain as it was slashed from behind by Tara's Tyrant Blade. As the creature collapsed to the ground, he could see a strange greenish black liquid seeping out of the wounds. Tara kicked the creature once and turned to him.

"Are you all right?"

He nodded and turned towards the monster. The others were on the edges of the battle with their weapons drawn and Weihan knew that if anything happened, they would open fire and incinerate the creature in a flash – no matter how strong its armour was. Changing his blade back to the metallic sheen, he rested it on his left shoulder-pad, ensuring it was away from the trio of spikes. Looking towards the monster, he could see that it had risen to its feet and looked like it would fall over again any second. A steady stream of the greenish-black liquid flowed out of the two wounds on its body and small sparks arced over damaged and destroyed parts of armour. The monster opened its mouth and coughed up another strange fluid, this one coloured a bright, almost neon, blue. Its voice was weak and fluttering, but still held a detached tone.

"Do what you need to do, Ranger. It…"

Lyncherot shook his head as a fresh wave of pain wracked his body. His lips moved up in a smile as he relished in the fact that he was finally feeling pain for the first time in countless years. He could see the warnings flash over his eyes as system after system failed in spectacular fashion. He chuckled mirthlessly to himself at a few of them. He didn't realise his waste recycling system was connected to the air intake vents, but it finally explained the smell that had been pestering him for the past seven hundred years. mustering up his remaining strength, he wrenched his blade out of his arm and used it as a crutch of sorts, not caring that the edge was digging into his fingers and severing the fragile connections. He struggled to speak again.

"It is your destiny. You started this and you must be the one to finish it."

He saw the two Rangers look at each other, as if in surprise and saw them nod soon after. No loud declarations were shouted out as the two swords glowed with power and energy. He almost couldn't hear them running at him and their leap into the air was almost like bouncing off a cloud. Using the last of his strength to send the message to Dream Weaver, he felt white-hot pain flood his senses as the charged blades smashed into his body, discharging their deadly payloads into his dying systems. He knew that not even a Growth Grenade could save him from destruction and he welcomed the end to his torture. As he fell back, the memory bank he had been accessing began to play the sounds of the battle so long ago.

_"Kat! Are you all right?"_

_"Yeah. He's tough though…at this rate; we won't be able to beat him."_

_"We just need to drive him away…somehow. Or, wait…damn, I'm going to have to start the cycle up once more…"_

The recording sputtered once…and then died.

TBC…

AN: This will have its end/beginning in Tinywarz Rangers…whenever I get around to writing that chapter.


	34. 33: Flow Questions

AN: Another short chapter to set up the next arc…

Chapter Thirty Three: Flow Questions

He shut off the communication console in disgust.

"Sorry about that, I thought they would be able to help you."

Weihan shook his head and turned to the semi-retired Pink Time Force Ranger. The words of the monster were still rolling around in his mind and, for the past three day, he hadn't been able to think of anything else. It wasn't at the point where it was noticeable, but there was some amount of quiver in his normal activities and studies. He had pored through Zordon's Archives, hoping to find a reference, no matter how small, to the incident the monster was referring to…and put an end to the strange dreams that were plaguing his nights. A few hours ago, he had been walking through the streets of North Sydney and had bumped into Wes and Jen Collins. The two 'year-old-newlyweds' were investigating the strange murders that had been happening as Jen had said they didn't match with anything recorded in the history logs. Somewhere along the line, Wes had the idea to communicate with Time Force to see if they could see anything that involved the Orange Ranger travelling through time. Jen had agreed and, as they were setting up, she had taken him aside and explained to him that part of their data involved his journey into the bad future and she had seen snippets of the recordings. It had shaken him somewhat to know that a dark and extremely personal event was being shown to new cadets, but that was in the year 3000…and he would be long since dead.

He had been even more shaken up to see Alex, an apparent descendant of Wes, saluting him and gushing about how excited he was. The moment had only lasted a few seconds but the Orange Ranger hadn't forgotten what he needed to ask. The moments after the question left his lips were like talking to a brick wall that kept slamming into your body. Instantly, he could see that Alex was evading the question and stepping around the subject, albeit with all the grace of a rhino on roller skates. He had given an extremely generic answer about how everything that would play out in his future was predestined to happen and had cut off the communication rather abruptly, citing problems with their…well, he didn't know exactly what a 'trans-obstacle receiver brake' was used for but he supposed it sounded important enough. That left him back at square one for the umpteenth time and he silently prayed for anyone to help him. As expected, he didn't see any bright bursts of light to signify that Edward, Rita, Zordon or even Shining Light had heard his silent plea.

"Maybe it's better off to not know and take things as they come."

Weihan looked over at the semi-retired Red Ranger and snorted. His gaze must have given Wes the wrong impression as the sandy haired man shook his head.

"I mean, uh, if you know the future then there's no enjoying the moment. Jen and the others are helping Bio-Lab evolve into Time Force or whatever, but there were a few other stages throughout the way. We also know Alex is a descendant of mine but we don't know the hows of everything and, if you ignore the overall creepiness of Alex almost marrying his great, great, great…something grandmother, it's pretty interesting to see things play out."

Weihan nodded as Jen slapped her husband on the arm. The words of the monster were spooky, but he was letting them get to him a lot more than they should have been. After all, for all he knew the monster could have been making up everything that had been heard, knowing that the Ranger would spend a lot of time trying to find the meaning behind the words. If he didn't know that the monsters Jabarkas had were a mixed bag of oddness, he would have believed it. Nodding, he slumped back in the seat and looked at the blank communication screen in dismay. Maybe it was better to drop the subject of the monster and his words which may-or-may-not have been true. Anyway, it was threatening to add on to the increasing headache that kept popping up. Silently, he wondered what deity he had pissed off for everything to be coming on his head at once. He knew Jabarkas was spying on the events and murders in Sydney and wondered how long it would be until he had to face a monster based on whatever was committing said murders.

"Ah, don't worry about it. Everything happens for a reason and, sometimes, you can give destiny the middle finger."

He chuckled under his breath as he watched the two Time Force Rangers pack up the communication screen. Lothor was lying low for the time being and, as Hunter had put it, the Rangers were enjoying the well-deserved break. He had mentioned something about an island, a monster and a spray of crazy, but the Orange Ranger had just brushed off that as another day in the 'office'. Jabarkas hadn't sent down any monsters yet, but only three days had passed. He had a feeling something was on the horizon, but it was something that was a constant since gaining the Orange Ultra Crystal. Looking around at the drones that were maintaining the Ultra Zords, he stretched his arms above his head and winced as he heard the joints pop. Cracking his knuckles, he sat back and nodded slowly.

"Yeah, you're right. I guess it's not something I should worry about for now."

"B'sides, Time Force is rather anal about unauthorised time travel. You take one step outside your 'assigned time' and they come down on you like a ton of bricks."

Weihan chuckled again at the comment as Jen smacked Wes once more. After a round of farewells, he teleported the two of them out of the Ultra Cavern and sank down in one of the chairs again. He had to laugh at he mind and the crazy paranoia it seemed to throw in his way. Everything, from the voices in his head to the strange and random attacks, had a logical and reasonable explanation and it would reveal itself when the time was right. He didn't know how 'jaunting into the ancient past' would ever play a part in his Ranger journey, but it was something to keep a look out for. Besides, there was only so much information to be gleaned from Zordon's Archives and Rita's memory. Looking at the time, he groaned to himself and pulled out his Accounting textbook from his subspace pocket.

He had a lot of work to do…

TBC…


	35. 34: Dreams

Chapter Thirty Four: Dreams

"You look troubled."

Liz Martin looked up to see Emma Chou looking at her. She had seen Weihan in class, but the Orange Ranger looked like he had a lot on his mind. Talks with Bec the day before had revealed that the monster fought on the weekend had some previous knowledge of the Orange Ranger; but, when questioned, Weihan had denied all knowledge of the monster. It was clearly bothering him as he hadn't been his usual self but on the other hand, she guessed he was giving her the space she had asked for. As the Asian girl sat down next to her, Liz began playing with her Ivory Crystal Coin again. She had specifically picked out a spot where she could sit and not be noticed by anyone or any cameras that were in the area. After the aftermath of the 'Michael' incident, she had noticed how many cameras were around her, making her feel boxed-in and somewhat claustrophobic. Flipping the off-white disc into the air, she caught it in her right hand and looked at the ornate design once more. She nodded once and sighed.

"I guess I am. I'm torn about what to do."

Emma shot a strange look at her and wondered what was going on inside the mind of her friend. Jorja and Bec had given her a glossed-over version of what had happened and, while a part of her recoiled in horror at the thought of the mind-wiping, she knew it had been the best thing that could have possibly been done. To leave Michael to his own devices would eventually lead to his death at the hands of a monster, Zord or an accidental one at the hands of the Rangers. She knew Liz had been personally invested in him, but she had to see that it was the best course of action. Shaking her head, she spoke in a low tone…that somehow didn't seem to convey the depth of her incredulity.

"How so? You can walk away, right?"

Liz nodded and watched her coin flip through the air once more. Turning away from the Rangers would mean going solo for her future battles. She had no doubt in her mind that she would still have the help and 'backing' of the others, but she would be separated from the extreme technological devices in the Ultra Cavern. Plus, having the Ivory Tigerzord outside her house would raise a few suspicions. On the other hand, she wouldn't have to see what other magical horrors Weihan would be 'inflicting' on other witnesses that couldn't keep their secret. Oh sure, she knew that if Michael hadn't struggled, he would have most of his memories intact…but that was beside the principle of thing. She sighed softly and traced her right thumb over the surface of the coin once more.

"I know I can but I don't want to. I wish I was like you. You know what your destiny has in store for you but you walk away from it without a care in the world."

Liz hears a mirthless chuckle come from the girl next to her and she frowned slightly. Emma should have been embracing her and saying how she was right to be leaving the 'vile cult of the Rangers'…maybe not in those exact words, but something like them. Instead, she was acting like she had changed her mind. Of course, that was also somewhat understandable as she had seen a few battles with the Rangers and knew both what they were capable of and how efficient they were in dealing with extra-terrestrial threats. As far as she was aware, Emma was the only potential Ranger to not jump at the several chances that had been grated to her…so why was she backtracking now?

"Yeah…I wish it was that simple."

She paused and looked at the Asian girl strangely.

"What do you mean?"

Emma opened her mouth, closed it and thought about her answer. There was something about the coin in the hand of her friend that both called to her and held the promise of greater power. She closed her eyes and directed her thoughts inward. The absence of her parents was extremely glaring in her family life, especially since their ill-fated journey to New York a few years ago. That none of her other family members were living in Australia wasn't even touched upon as she, a minor at the time, had been granted a 'special exception' of not being accepted into the 'system'…whatever that was. If the Ultra Rangers had bothered to be there, the damage wouldn't have been as bad. More people would have been evacuated and the Lightspeed Rangers could have saved everyone who was stuck on the roof. She remembered the feeling that stabbed through her heart as she was lifted up by her mother as the awful creaking and crumbling was heard under her. She remembered only looking back to see her parents smile in relief and hold her brother close to them as the building began its final lurch into oblivion. She had felt utterly helpless then and had vowed that – no matter what it took – she would never feel, or make others feel, the same way again.

Her initial rejection had stemmed from the events surrounding that day and her first impressions of Weihan. The persona he put up in front of the world was extremely different than the one she had seen on the battlefield. There was a heroic quality to him that seemed to be tinged with some subtle desperation…almost as if he was battling something else than the monster in front of him. Even the other Rangers around him seemed to share in the same desperate fighting strategy. Of course, that was understandable as they were fighting to protect the entire world from the evils the Power Rangers couldn't beat but that didn't account for the intensity of the Orange Ranger's battles. The only way she would even begin to decipher the mystery behind the leader of the Ultra Rangers was to take up the offer. However, there were still things holding her back.

"Ah, how do I put this? It's not so much as I'm having second thoughts…more like I'm wondering what the other side is like."

"Thought you still had a grudge about the Ultra Rangers not being –"

Emma nodded sharply, feeling the familiar sting of pain and regret in her heart. Joining the Rangers seemed more and more like a sure thing as her doubts and worries melted away. Still, there was something stubborn in her mind that refused to budge until there were concrete answers given to her. Plus, she wanted to know what it would have been like if the Rangers never existed in the first place…but something stayed her tongue.

"Yeah, but I can't stay mad at them forever. Still, I can't help thinking…."

Liz nodded as she stared at the coin once more. it almost seemed like something out of the purest fantasy; a normal girl being plucked out of obscurity by an all-powerful being and given the chance to rise up against the alien oppressors attacking her world. The questions of why the Rangers were needed were worming into her mind and she had often stayed awake at night thinking what a place a world without Rangers would be like. Would there be world-wide peace or would there still be fighting? Would a World War be embroiling the Earth or would humanity have finally solved every single crisis befalling them?

"Yeah, I've had those thoughts as well. So much destruction has happened throughout the world because of them."

Emma nodded. She opened her mouth once more and let the words come out in a rush. Maybe it was the excitement of having someone else that shared her doubts or reconnecting with a friend, but her 'mental barrier' around the question slowly started to crack and slough away.

"Buildings destroyed, lives lost…millions of dollars pumped into the creation of Monster Shelters and educational courses. It's like the bad outweighs the good, especially during the Countdown and the last big battle. It's also strange how none of the Rangers explained why they acted like they did during that battle on the waterfront, the one where Weihan unveiled the new Zord and armour mode. For a few moments, I thought that they were acting out of shock and denial of something…but it was never explained what."

Liz nodded. She had asked Weihan about that battle but had seen him evading the question seconds after the words had registered in his mind. There was something about that battle in particular that he either didn't want to relive or didn't want them learning about. She didn't really know which option was worse. Unlike Emma though, she knew that the Rangers – for all their flaws and perceived weaknesses – were extremely beneficial to the Earth as a whole. She wasn't sure what the effect would be if they never existed, but she wasn't going to tempt fate by expressing the wish out loud.

"Maybe…no, it's a stupid thought and a stupid wish."

Liz slowly turned to Emma, a sudden chill running down her spine. Emma continued on, seemingly oblivious to the dawning expression of horror on the face of the other girl

"I wonder what it would be like if the Power Rangers and Ultra Rangers never existed."

Liz opened her mouth to respond when a creature burst out of the nearby bushes. It was a humanoid that looked like a cross between a Native American dream catcher, a pair of long knitting needles and an oversized cockroach. The monster seemed to grin as it waved its arms in the air, allowing long and thin tendrils of energy to expel from its body and wrap around everything. Liz shot to her feet to morph…but she lost her footing as the world twisted and turned around her. Memories forced their way into her mind and she gasped in shock as she realised what was happening. Pulling back her arm to punch at the monster, the ground gave way beneath her.

And, in the blink of an eye, history changed.

TBC…


	36. 35: Brave New World

Chapter Thirty Five: Brave New World

"What just happened?"

Liz looked around at her surroundings and tried to see the monster…that should have been in front of her. Instead, she saw nothing, save the wooden plank fence that separated their school from the back alley. Her Crystal Morpher was still around her wrist and the Ivory Tiger Coin shimmered with light, but something seemed…off. Emma was still next to her and the Asian girl seemed slightly disoriented but otherwise fine. She stepped out into the sunshine and looked around, gazing up at the buildings to try to see where the creature had gone. Shaking her head, she dismissed her Crystal Morpher and nodded once to Emma.

"What happened, Liz? You saw the monster jump out of the bushes, right?"

The Ivory Ranger nodded and stretched out with her senses as Weihan had taught her to do. Besides the faint traces of astonishment and indignation coming from a nearby paddy wagon, there were no energy trails that led to the monster. In fact, there were no energy trails anywhere – something that unnerved her greatly. Weihan had always stated that the energy of the Morphin Grid permeated everywhere, even in dimensions where there was only one team of Rangers in the Universe. It had always been at the back of her mind, a comforting and warm presence that always reassured her of her decisions. To have it taken away from her was jarring, to say the least, and made her extremely uncomfortable. Seeing the nervous look on her face, Emma leant in close and dropped her tone.

"What did it do? It shot out energy and I felt it wrap around me. More to the point…where is it?"

Liz shook her head and tried to slow her breathing. The energy had wrapped around her body as well and she had experienced a feeling of falling. It seemed like nothing had changed but she couldn't feel the Morphin Grid or even the powerful hum of the Ultra Grid anywhere. She looked down at her now bare wrist and shivered in fear. If the monster had transported them to a place where she was cut off from the Grid, she would have to conserve her energy and weapon use. Smoothing down her skirt and trying not to look as freaked out as she felt, she made her way to the entrance of the building. No matter what, she needed to know where the creature had trapped them.

"Hey! Liz!"

Turning at the voice, she smiled nervously as the familiar form of Weihan jogged towards her. However, as he came closer, the Ivory Ranger took note of the little things that were missing from the boy in front of her. Firstly, he seemed to be slightly less confident in himself and had a slightly fraying black backpack slung over his shoulders. His ever-present silver and orange communicator was absent from his wrist and there was a half-empty bottle of Coke in his right pocket. Looking behind him, she could see Bree walking towards them at a slower pace. Exchanging another uneasy glance at Emma, she forced a smile to her face as the Asian boy caught up to them. He opened his mouth and closed it, looking closely at them.

"Whoa, what happened to you two? You seem…weirded out by something. It's not my story, right?"

Before she could ask the question forming in her mind, Weihan unzipped his backpack to pull out a book with a brown cover. Various drawings and scribbles covered the front and as she took it out of his hands, an icy chill ran down her spine as she saw the title: 'The Ultra Crystals'. Opening the book with a slight degree of trepidation, she flicked through the pages and skimmed through pages and pages of short notes. Familiar words like 'Ultrazords', 'Crystal Powers' and 'Xonix' sprang out at her but there was nothing to show of his journeys with the ponies…almost as if that particular 'branch' hadn't crossed his mind yet. There was also a heavily crossed out section with an arrow pointing to the words 'Rethink battle strategy'. Squinting at the words, she could just make out a line that said 'falls into a trap and is', but the rest of the words were too heavily obscured in thick black ink to be read. She looked up just in time to see Bree embrace the Asian from behind and lean in for a short kiss. Her fingers fell slack as Weihan took the book back from her and continued on, seemingly oblivious to the shock on the two girls.

"It's only a rough outline. I still need to add a few more things here and there, like plot and detail and all the connecting bits…"

His voice trailed off as the expressions of the two girls finally registered in his mind. He didn't understand why they were so surprised and stunned at their relationship. After all, Liz had been the one to finally push them together after the rather uneventful night at her party. They had even found his like of the Power Rangers to be somewhat strange, but not bothersome at all…which was a marked contrast to the high levels of hostility that he had received in High School. Mentally shuddering at the thoughts of those days, he forced his mind out of the past and raised an eyebrow at both Liz and Emma.

"What? You two look like you've seen a ghost. Or maybe you saw a monster come out of a mirror."

Emma blinked once and tried to wrap her mind around the bizarre situation in front of her. As far as she knew, from the information Bec and Jorja had told her, Weihan had just come out of a relationship with the Silver Ultra Ranger and only viewed Bree as someone strictly off-limits. On the other hand, she had just seen a monster jump out of a bush and weave some sort of crazy spell…so, anything was possible. Seeing Liz was too stunned to speak, she opened her mouth and gave it a shot.

"You and Bree, together? Since when?"

Weihan looked at the two girls once more and narrowed his eyes slightly. They had seemed normal earlier in class and Liz had even given him a few tips on how the flow of the earlier chapters could possibly work. He was sceptical of a few things, namely her ideas for the chaotic situation the main character would be thrown in to but, after a few more hours of thought, he had decided it was the correct way. After all, there wasn't really much riding on the creation of the team until that even happened. Bree had been a help in stringing some of the plot threads together but he had a strange feeling the chapter length would go past 150 chapters. What the 'filler' material would be, he had no idea about but he was sure something would pop up…no pun intended. Bree smiled quizzically at them and spoke for her boyfriend, her southern accent flowing musically through the air.

"Officially, about a week. Unofficially, for a month or so. We weren't terribly subtle about it either."

Liz swallowed hard to regain her composure and ran through a mental checklist of everything that had happened since she had come to class. The strange memories in her mind informed her that nothing major had happened and Emma had brought her to the back to show her something. However, her real memories stated that they had sat down to talk about the Rangers and what the world would have been like without them. Emma had made a wish for something like that and a monster had popped out of the bushes. It had spun out some crazy stuff and the ground had fallen out from under her…but she was still in one piece and still sitting down; even though she knew she had sprang to her feet when the monster had appeared. Now, she was in the same place but the monster was nowhere to be seen, Weihan and Bree were together and, if she had heard correctly, Power Rangers was just a work of fiction. On the plus side, she still had access to her Crystal Coin, her Morpher and whatever weapons were inside the Coin. There wasn't really a Grid she could draw from, but she would do her best to defend the public from the monster…whenever it chose to make another appearance.

"What do the words Power Ranger mean to you?"

Weihan looked to Emma, who had spoken in a low tone. He shook his head and rolled his eyes slightly as he knew they knew what the Power Rangers were. He hoped Disney didn't fuck up the franchise too much, though the word on the Internet was that Ninja Storm was a show that really didn't take itself seriously. He sometimes hated still being on dial-up, but he guessed it was better than nothing. He only hoped the Rangers didn't get something akin to a giant pink pony for a Zord or he would be swearing off the show for good. Of course, if pink ponies started showing up regularly on TV, most of the fans would swear off the show anyway. Or a that show would gain a cult following.

"The show? Well, yeah, I based that outline on my own team of Rangers that I created in my head, but everything is based off the Power Rangers. Plus, I doubt this will ever be published so it's well within the rights of fan work…I think."

"Power Rangers is just a show?"

He blinked in surprise as a strange thought wormed its way into his mind. Maybe aliens and space villains did exist and they had enslaved the minds of the two girls in front of him. With a mental shrug, he guessed that they were doomed to stay in their semi-amnesiac state for good as the only Power Rangers around were played by actors across the pond. Slowly nodding, he tried to assess if they had hit their heads recently. Sharing a confused look with Bree, he glanced around him to see where the others were. While they didn't really share his passion for the Rangers, Bec, Jorja and Phoebe in particular had been great in identifying spots where he could place some amount of emotion into the story. They had even brought up an idea that he would like…if he wasn't living it: that two Rangers could be flung into an alternate world or dimension where there were no such thing as Power Rangers. It was all delightfully Meta and, if he used twisted the joining order slightly, it would mean one of them would have a chance to see what a worse place the world would be. The only question was which Ranger it would be and how they would react on a personal level.

"Uh, yeah. We went over this at the beginning…remember?"

Liz shook her head in disbelief. Wherever the monster had sent them was completely and utterly devoid of Power Rangers and Ranger-related objects. Pulling out her phone, she quickly scrolled through the sent messages until she found the one that she had sent Weihan to tell him that the spell had worked a little too well. Much to her relief, it was still there…which also made her more confused than before. Everything seemed to make no sense and she was actually hoping the monster would make another appearance…just so she could take her mind off the oddness of the world around her.

"So, there are no giant monsters roaming the streets and no giant robots traipsing through the streets?"

Watching the boy that should have been the Orange Ranger shake his head slowly, Emma's breath hitched in her throat as her phone vibrated in her pocket. Reaching for it, she pulled it out and felt tears spring to her eyes as she recognised the number. It was one that she hadn't seen for the past two years as the phone in question had been sitting on her desk that morning; still caked in ash, mud and other unidentified substances. It was a constant reminder of what she had lost on that day. The message was short, telling her that they would be out for dinner and there was food in the fridge that she could heat up…but there was no denying the fact.

Her parents were alive.

She almost didn't hear Weihan's reply as the shock filtered through her body slowly.

"Not unless you count the ones on TV or in my head. And, before you ask, there are no monsters roaming around the streets in broad daylight."

"Guess again, Ranger!"

TBC…

AN: Yes, I am aware this chapter is highly Meta in itself.


	37. 36: Dark Dreams

Chapter Thirty Six: Dark Dreams

His magic had evolved.

Dream Weaver sat in the small and cramped 'holding cell' and wondered how it had happened. Usually he would send them off into a dream world where all of their dreams, wishes and fantasies had come true. He would then use their life energy to add to his power and crush the coming Rangers with the energy from their friends. Instead, he found himself sucked up and deposited in a world where it seemed there were no Rangers. The local police force had pretty much arrested him, thinking he was some human in an overly-elaborate costume, and placed him in 'lock-up'. The rather thin metal walls didn't impede his hearing any and he listened out for the reactions of the two fools who had made the wish.

He could have gone off on his rampage of revenge when he knew that Lyncherot had been destroyed but he had his orders to fulfil. Jabarkas had seemed like a genuinely nice guy, which was extremely rare, but the deal had been done with no hassle. Even though Lyncherot hadn't really destroyed any of the Rangers, he didn't want to be lugging around the rather bulky Plane Crosser as the risk of it being taken by the Rangers was too great. Even on the barren wastes of the Moon, the Ranger could still get to it…but they would be hard pressed to even make a dent in the new and improved Moon Fortress. He also needed to get his affairs in order in the off chance he was destroyed by the Rangers. Actually, the chances of him not being destroyed were astronomically low but he had a strange feeling that coming to this new dimension had evened the odds in his favour. His antennae twitched as they picked up on the vibrations made by the voice of the Ivory Tiger Ranger.

There was shock in her voice. Surprise as well, but it wasn't dwarfed by the shock. He grinned slowly as he flexed his wrists once; easily breaking loose of the feeble restraints the humans had placed on him. He owed the destroyed Lyncherot his life as the cyborg warrior had extended a hand to him in his darkest hour. He had been on the run from some Anishan Crime Lord but had been cornered by the Intergalactic Police. He never found out how they had been tracking him, but track him they had…leaving him literally between a rock and a hard place. He had concentrated his power and energy into what he thought would be a final and suicidal attack and the world had flashed to white.

He had awoken in a place that wasn't where he expected.

There were no guards with high-energy lasers pointed at his head, nor were there doctors and medical workers scrambling to save his pathetic excuse for a life. Instead, he was floating inside a healing tank while a half-cyborg Lyncherot watched over him. After he had healed to a satisfactory level, the gel had been dumped out and he had been given a rather strange version of an ultimatum. He could leave and live a life of a free, but wanted monster. Bounties worth billions in various currencies had been shown to him and he had broken out in a cold sweat just thinking of where he could hide out. Unfortunately for him, the strange combination of elements he had been created from made him stick out like a sore thumb no matter what disguises he thought up. At one point, he had been seriously considering cutting off his antennae and pulling out the strange needle implements above his hands. He had been talked out of it by Lyncherot as the cyborg monster outlined his second option. He would work with the cyborg as the 'muscle', a way for debtors to cough up the money that they owed him for his magnificent weapons. As an 'employee' of his, all of the bounties in the Universe would be cancelled as not even the Ancients would want to cross the maker of some of the finest weapons in all space. Needless to say, he had chosen Option 2.

The early years weren't his idea of fun. Shuttling from one planet to the next became old quickly and when war broke out, their prices soared through the roof. Their clients paid and for the ones that tried to Welch out on the deal, their headless bodies were sent back to their planets. Payment was sent soon after and the occurrences dropped. Dream Weaver still had steady employment but he could see his usefulness swiftly coming to an end as either an errand boy…or a testing dummy. He could see the robotics continue to spread over Lyncherot and he had brushed up on his mechanical knowledge in the event that his Master needed urgent repairs.

He chuckled mirthlessly at that word – Master. A bond of genuine friendship had grown between the two as they worked throughout the centuries and, even though his employment opportunities were running thin, he knew that he would be welcome at his side for however long it took for him to clear his name. They both knew, however, that Dream Weaver was completely guilty of every charge that was levelled against him, so clearing his name would take longer than the eventual death of the Universe. Over time, the feeling of wanting to leave had faded away and he had begun to actually enjoy the stretches of boredom between jobs. He loved watching his Master work at a new weapon and gave input wherever possible, whether it was trying to work out how the weapon would combine or finding the best place to hide a bomb. Up to a few hundred years ago, he had thought that there was nothing in the Universe that could ever surprise, shock or astound him.

And then they had found the Plane Crosser.

Breaking free of his pathetic leg restraints, he thought back to that time as he waited for the perfect time to reveal his presence. The duo had been sent to scour the abandoned and war-scarred planet of Taris to see what was salvageable in all of the destruction and desolation. Apart from a few towering piles of a strange crystalline 'ore' and a few bands of nomadic wanderers eking out whatever lives they could…there wasn't much. On the seventh rotation, very close to the horizon, or night, of the planet, they had stumbled upon an artefact left behind by the former rulers of that sector: the feared Sha'Kahr Empire. It had taken most of his strength for him to move the massive object back to their ship before the all-encompassing darkness swallowed up even the smallest pricks of light. It had come with well-hidden documentation on what the machine did and was capable of, but it was all written in the scratchy runes of the Sha'Kahr. A solar storm had delayed their departure anyways so they had spent a good few weeks trying to decipher the instructions. It was a good thing Lyncherot had managed to talk to Drakor before his imprisonment and had learned the Sha'Kahr 'alphabet' all those years ago. Painstakingly, they discovered that it was a Plane Crosser and was the basis for the mass exodus of the Sha'Kahr from the system which they once ruled.

They had taken off days later and had settled in an asteroid belt where Lyncherot had taken up permanent residence. They had agreed never to use the Plane Crosser until a time where someone was dumb enough – or rich enough – to buy it outright. Breathing evenly, his ears picked up on one of the Rangers talking about how there weren't any monsters roaming the streets and felt a grin spread across his face. As the police had thought him to be a guy in a costume, they had also questioned him if he was working on some monster movie or Power Rangers. His shock at the question had allowed them to capture him and bundle him up into the van. Flexing his wrists, two long off-white 'needle stingers' extracted themselves from above his hands and he thrust out with the weapons – easily piercing the metal shell of the vehicle.

Forcing his body through the gash he had made, he scanned he area as the people around him finally started to take notice of him. They didn't scream or run, some blinked, pointed and even pulled out a few small camera-phone devices. He made a motion toward them but stopped. They would see what he could do in due time.

It was time to kill.

TBC…


	38. 37: Introducing the Power

Chapter Thirty Seven: Introducing the Power

"So there's where it went."

Liz rolled her eyes at Emma's comment and stared at the creature in front of her. She looked down to see her Crystal Morpher had been unconsciously summoned and she willed it back into subspace. She wasn't going to reveal all of her cards to the monster…even though she was sure it knew she was a Ranger. She settled into a relaxed fighting stance as it stepped closer. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Weihan look at her strangely but she didn't care. The person in front of her wasn't the Weihan who she trusted and knew, only an inhabitant in this strange dream-like world that had been conjured up by the monster. She hoped it was a dream-like world anyway and that the creature hadn't managed to drag the two of them into some alternate dimension where there were no Rangers. It would mean getting back would be downright impossible.

"Is that a real monster?"

Dream Weaver laughed darkly as the humans around him finally decided it would be a good idea to start running away from him. He could sense the Power Signature radiating from the Ranger in front of her and relished in the thought of being able to snuff it out permanently. He started towards them when his senses caught an odd resonance from the Ivory one…almost as if there was another Crystal Coin on her body. Shaking his head at the thought, he smirked and started slowly walking towards them. A second Crystal Coin on the Ranger wouldn't make a difference to what was going to happen.

"As real as it gets, puny Ranger. No, you are no Ranger."

At Weihan's confused look, Liz turned towards Emma. The girl was still looking at the monster, but there was a deeper shock radiating from her body. Her phone was still clutched in one hand and it started vibrating in her hand as a call came through. Emma looked down at the phone and swallowed the lump in her throat as she read the called ID. She fought with herself over what to do but finally, with an air of slight despair, forced herself to stick the phone deep in the pocket of her blazer. Taking a few moments to compose herself, she nodded once at the Ivory Ranger and awaited whatever orders would come. Dealing with the monster and immediate threat came first. Only after the monster was driven away could she deal with her confusion and deep-seated longing.

"Emma, I need you to –"

She nodded once and looked behind her. She could see the other girls hovering around the entrance of the school, unsure of what to do. She surely hoped the rumours of the school moving to a nearby office block were true as that would help protect them from danger and any monsters that would attack. Shaking her head at the thoughts, she scanned the area for any small safe havens that could be used to house the civilians around her. Of course, there were underground car parks, but she somehow thought that being trapped underground wouldn't be a very safe option for them. Deciding she would make it up on the fly, she opened her mouth to reply.

"Already on it. Just make sure 'fearless' here doesn't…"

A crazed cry broke into her words as Weihan charged at the monster over Bree's panicked yells. Liz swore to herself as she saw the boy leap at the monster with a flying side kick that should have knocked the monster back a few paces…if he was a Ranger. As it was, the kick never connected. The monster lashed out with one of the strange needle implements on its right wrist and knocked him out of his attack. Rolling on the ground, the boy leapt up and punched the creature in the centre of its chest before attempting to push it away from the populated areas. Realising about five seconds later that it wouldn't work, he took off his backpack and began hitting the monster in what was undoubtedly his last, and most desperate, attack. The monster seemed to take the attacks in stride, waiting until the boy had visibly run out of steam before casually picking him up and throwing him at a nearby hedge.

They ran over to their fallen friend and helped him up. The attacks by the monster didn't seem to have damaged him too badly as the only signs of visible injury were the scratches he had gained from the rough landing in the hedge. He shook himself off and made a mental note regarding the strength of the monster. He would definitely be putting the creature in front of him into his story, though it would have to be in Crystal Coins and not the main story. He would cross that bridge when he came to it though. He looked up and smiled shakily at Bree before spitting out a few leaves.

"Shit…that thing packs a wallop. We can't let it near the others but you'd need the same level of power to stand up against that thing!"

Liz nodded to herself and quietly re-summoned her Crystal Morpher. As soon as she felt the cool metallic band on her wrist, she looked at Emma and allowed the persona of the Leader of the Crystal Rangers to seamlessly slide over her. This wasn't the time to think about losing Michael or exposing the power of the Rangers to people who had never seen a Power Ranger outside their television screens; if she didn't do something quickly, then everything would be over for them in a very permanent way. She didn't want blood on her hands.

"Emma, get the others to safety. Meet us in St Leonards Park in around ten minutes."

Not bothering to see the other girl nod and begin shuffling the curious civilians away, she stepped in front of Weihan and Bree. Drawing in a deep breath, she stretched out with her feelings and senses once more in order to confirm that there was no Morphin Grid present on the Earth. Sighing to herself as she realised there was nothing available for her, she exhaled slowly and looked the creature in the 'eyes'.

"This is as far as you go, monster."

From his position behind her, Weihan gaped at the boldness of his classmate. Had it only been a few hours ago that she had been sitting in class, idly chuckling at his outline? She had seemed to be the same then and even before, when she had been feigning amnesia, she had seemed like the same person. However, all of that seemed to have been stripped away as she continued to stand between the monster and them. Pulling out the book inside his bag, he jotted down a few notes regarding the strength of the attacks and looked up, eyes zeroing in on the strange metal band around her left wrist. it looked, to his eyes, to be similar to a communicator he had seen on the show, yet it was slightly thicker and the speaker on top seemed to house an off-white coin. Flicking a few pages to the rudimentary design sketches he had done for the Crystal Rangers, his jaw dropped as he saw the drawing for the Morpher he had envisaged was remarkably similar to the one in front of him.

He opened his mouth to point it out when she shifted her stance. Drawing her left arm close to her chest, she placed her right palm on the underside of her wrist as the air began to crackle with foreign energy. As the energy began to dance on her arms, Weihan found himself unable to resist bringing his hand up to see if he could touch the bolts. When questioned afterward, he would feign ignorance and tell people that he had seen flashes of a grim world filled with nothing but fighting. In reality, he saw the very images that had come from his imagination. Giant robots towered over buildings and monsters attacked those unlucky enough to get in their way. In the middle of the destruction, he could see a version of himself standing with a blade he knew was the Raptor Sabre, slashing at a creature that was a head or two taller than him. He pulled back his arm and breathed heavily, stunned by the images he had seen. Well, at least he knew there was a world where his work of fiction was reality.

"Crystal Morph! Ivory Tiger Power!"

Liz felt a rush as the Power washed over her body. For the first time in a week, she felt fully at ease with the decisions Weihan had made regarding Michael. As she had time away from the Rangers, she knew that the safety of the world came first and their identities came second. That was the way it always was and had been with the Power Rangers and the lack of rules the Ultra Rangers, and by extension the Crystal Rangers, had didn't make it any less so. She heard the welcoming roars of the Tiger in her ears and smiled in return. The Rangers was where she belonged and she would fight hard to ensure that no one felt the same sting of loos as she had. Also, she needed to find a way back to their dimension and she had a feeling the monster knew how. Suppressing the Morphing runoff explosion, she posed and allowed the energy to pulse off her body.

"Ivory Tiger Crystal Ranger, ready."

Taking a few steps towards the monster, she motioned for the two behind her to get to safety. There wasn't much around them that could provide adequate protection, but she just needed to get the answer from the monster or drive it away. A thought popped up in her mind that a possible solution would just be to destroy the monster but she doubted it would be that easy. Sliding out her Crystal Blaster, she converted it into the blade mode and held it out in front of her. Seeing this, the monster chuckled and spoke.

"One Ranger…what can one Ranger do against the might of the Dream Weaver?"

Dream Weaver…did that mean this was all a dream? Liz didn't think so as everything felt too real. She would never have been able to conjure up things like Weihan writing about their adventures or Power Rangers being no more than just a children's television show. Running toward the monster, she leapt into the air and brought down the blade on its arms. The pressure she was feeling as they pushed up was real, as was the burning of her muscles as the monster slowly overpowered her. Shifting her weight, she dropped to the ground and lashed out with an energised kick, catching the monster's ankles. Dream Weaver stumbled back and took a swipe at her with the weapons on its hands. Feeling them connect with her armour, she tumbled back as warnings flashed on her HUD. This was no dream and, if she didn't up the ante, it would turn into a nightmare. Sheathing her Blaster, she held out her hands and accessed the Power.

"Ivory Spear!"

In a flash, the energised pole arm materialised into existence and she wasted no time. Channelling power and energy into the weapon, she ran at the monster once again. She saw it shift its weight in anticipation and she grinned under her helmet. Ducking low at the last possible moment, she slid under the arms of the monster and jabbed the spear upwards, her fingers inadvertently pressing one of the buttons. The power she had channelled into the weapon shot out of the blade of the spear, impacting against Dream Weaver's side and burning a hole through his defences. The monster fell back and clutched at the wound in paid…but Liz wasn't done yet.

Twirling the energised weapon around, she purposely pressed two buttons and thrust the weapon outward. To her amazement, two cones of energy lanced out from the blade of the weapon and rocketed towards the monster. They almost looked like drills…but that shouldn't have been the case. One cone impacted against Dream Weaver's torso, forcing the monster back and flooding his body with mind-numbing pain…but the second missed its mark and flew towards a young girl who she knew – Shannon Frew. The blonde's eyes widened and she threw up her hands for some measure of protection…and then it happened. Seemingly from within the girl spread out two reptilian wings that were made of the purest shadow. They wrapped around her body and, as the energy cone impacted against them, shielded her from the resulting explosion. From the swearing coming from the people behind her, she knew that both Weihan and Bree had seen the rather supernatural occurrence. Once the smoke cleared from the explosion, Shannon was nowhere to be seen. Liz made a mental note to tell Weihan, the Weihan who was the Orange Ranger, about the sight and hoped her suit's recorders had captured the moment.

"Ow…all right, Ranger, you win this round. I'll be back soon!"

In a flash of light, the monster vanished. Liz dismissed her weapon and looked at the spot where the creature had once been. Turning toward the two people behind her, she swallowed and inhaled shakily. There were a lot of questions running through her mind and not a whole lot of answers.

What the hell would be next?

TBC…


	39. 38: Steadfast Decision

Chapter Thirty Eight: Steadfast Decision

"What do you mean you're staying?"

Liz ran a hand through her hair and looked at Emma with an incredulous expression. She had ducked into the side alley and demorphed before joining up with Weihan and Bree. As expected, the two non-Rangers had plenty of questions to ask and Weihan, in particular, was overly 'geeking out' at the fact that Rangers were real. Of course, he had understood that what they did was a dangerous occupation and there was a lot of self-sacrifice involved. Liz smiled at his explanations, her esteem of the dimensional copy rising in her books. It seemed that all Weihan's in the Multiverse shared the same honourable spirit deep down. Bree hadn't tried to understand, but was nodding her head during the short walk to St Leonards Park. The subject of her sister and Rachelle had been broached but, it seemed, he didn't have anything to do with them. Weihan cited trying something with Rachelle but it ending on bad terms. He didn't really elaborate after that.

As expected, Emma had been waiting for them at the entrance to the park. They had walked deep into the park and had found a spot that they couldn't be seen or heard easily. Ironically, it was extremely close to the busy highway but far enough from prying eyes and ears that they could talk about Ranger related matters. Naturally, Liz had taken the lead and had been bouncing idea and suggestions off the others to see how they could get back to their world when Emma had told them out of the blue that she would be staying. Liz noticed that the Asian girl's hand was wrapped around her mobile phone but she didn't understand why her friend was so reluctant to leave. It was almost as if…no, that couldn't be it. However, the next words that came out of Emma's mouth all but confirmed her reason.

"Liz, my parents are alive. My brother is alive. Why would I want to go back there?"

Liz shook her head and tried to calm down. She had felt her phone vibrating just before she had morphed but hadn't bothered to check the number. If Emma's parents and brother were alive and they were a family, there was nothing to suggest that Michael wouldn't be by her side again. There was no denying that she missed him as it had only been a short time since the incident…yet, she forced herself to think of the bigger picture. No matter where they were in the Multiverse, there was the chance that time in their world was still flowing and things would still be happening. Her life was in that dimension and, try as she might, she just couldn't envision spending the rest of her life in a dimension that wasn't hers. The differences would be too great…but how could she get Emma to see past her family?

"You have a duty to help as a Ranger! You said you were thinking of joining up!"

Emma shook her head and looked at her phone. The message from her parents was still on the screen, tempting her to stay in this world that was free of conflict. It was a place where she didn't have the threat of monsters and creatures from other planes breathing down her neck, where the world wasn't gripped in near-constant terror and fear from point-blank annihilation every day of the week. Compared to their home dimension, this place would be a veritable paradise and Liz would soon see that she didn't need to fight anymore. She turned towards the Ivory Ranger and lifted her phone so the other girl could see.

"That was before all of this! Before I knew there was a place where my parents didn't die! You can go back but I'm staying."

"You can't."

Both girls stopped at the voice and turned to see Weihan looking at them with an almost wistful look on his face. Liz's heart went out to the double of her leader and she felt sorry for dragging him into a world he thought was all made up in his mind. Bree was standing a short distance away from him and the expression on her face was of silent understanding, with the smallest tinge of sadness. He walked past the feuding girls and watched the traffic drive past in its unending stream. There were small columns of smoke rising up from the middle of the North Sydney CBD which were probably started by rioters, the people who couldn't understand what was happening before them. The police would deal with them in time, but their actions would be called into question as they had allowed that creature to break out. From behind him, he heard the low and dangerous tone of Emma and smiled in response.

"Why should I listen to you? You don't control my life and you sure as hell can't dictate what I can or can't do!"

He nodded and pulled off his backpack once more. For once, he was grateful that he had decided to come in to class that day. Bree said that he needed to work his brain on a different level than evading the 'secret service' of his mother and she wanted to go in to thank Liz for getting them together. Sticking his hand in his bag, he blindly felt around for the item that would surely bring sense into their lives. Plus, he was meaning to dispose of it sooner or later. He nodded and turned around to face the obviously angry girl, his tone neutral.

"True, but think about it. This world may have everything you want in it but you two stick out like sore thumbs. It was nagging at me even before that monster appeared. You honestly can't believe that you can slide into their lives without other people noticing."

Emma scoffed in disbelief. Of course they wouldn't stick out as they belonged in the world! Her parents, her brother…they were all together and there was nothing that could be done to make her not stay behind. She needed to see her parents again and to feel part of a family group once more. That was the reason she had wanted to join up with the Rangers, to be part of a group of people that constantly looked out for each other. She shook her head, expelling those thoughts from her mind. She was happy with where they were now and no one would notice the differences as they would be acting normally and how they had always acted around them.

"What? Who are 'they' and why would 'they' notice?"

Weihan sighed under his breath and opened his mouth. To Liz's eyes, he had taken on the role of the Ranger she knew him to be and instantly stood up the tiniest bit straighter – even if his voice was tired and exasperated.

"They are your parents and friends. They would notice because you would act different around them. This isn't like the world of the Power Rangers or, I dare say, where you're from. There are no evil spells here to blame on unusual behaviour – only drugs and mild psychosis."

He sighed and pulled out the object he had been searching for in his bag – the newspaper he had picked up on his way to the bus stop. The headline on the front proclaimed that the Bird Flu epidemic in China was still spreading and there had been cases of it reported in Japan and Russia. The so-called 'War on Terror' was also progressing at a 'quick' pace but had cost too many lives. The world was spiralling out of control and, if he was entirely honest with himself, needed Rangers. However, he knew that they would be stuck in the same old situation and it wouldn't turn out well. Handing the paper to Liz, he waited for them to read the headline before speaking.

"Look at that. I don't know what's happening in your dimension, world or wherever; but it's gotta be better than what's happening here."

Liz skimmed over the news before a sinking feeling settled into her stomach. War, famine and plague were permeating throughout the world and total global anarchy was being held back by a group of governments that could only barely hold back the cries and protests of the people. The events she was reading about had taken different turns in their dimension – bird flu had been eradicated by Bio-Lab and the War on Terror was wrapping up pretty quickly. Passing it to Emma, she ran a hand through her hair as she thought of the dangers this world would have to face in its future. She knew they didn't belong in this dimension and Weihan knew it as well. Sharing a quick look with him, she could see that convincing Emma would be the hardest task of all.

"Yes, this world needs Rangers but there are no alien enemies to defend against. We need them to protect us from terrorist threats, but the armies of the world can do that for us. You'd probably be forced into government service and be cut off from society as a whole while scientists probed you and tried to find out how your powers worked. Your family would be given some sort of 'Official Excuse' to remove you from their care and they would think of you as dead. On the other hand, they aren't your real family, right?"

Emma dropped the newspaper at the sound of his words and whirled at him, her eyes blazing with fury.

"Yes they are! They're alive and I need to be here!"

He nodded, mentally noting the slightly hysterical edge in her voice. He had absolutely no idea where all of this information was coming from as he had little to no experience in helping out with cases like these. In fact, he wouldn't even know where to begin if it wasn't for all the strange books on 'emotions' and 'wants and needs' that his mother insisted on keeping around. Noticing that Liz was allowing him to take the spotlight, he internally shuddered and swallowed hard. From what he could see, tackling the problem head-on was as smart an idea as fighting the monster with no protection. Recalling a paragraph in one of the more 'New Age' books about getting to the root cause; he decided to go that route…and prayed he didn't get punched.

"And what of the Liz and Emma that already live in this dimension? You've replaced them but where did they go? If you're here, could they be in your dimension?"

She paused for the briefest of moments and Liz allowed a small smile to flash across her face. Despite not knowing all the facts, it seemed that the duplicate of her leader was quickly finding the cracks in Emma's armour. Summoning her Ivory Coin, she looked at it as the strange feeling of another Power Source being near began to creep up on her once more. Stretching out her feelings for what seemed like the millionth time, she blinked in obvious shock and surprise as another Crystal Coin seemed to slowly extract itself from the off-white surface. Glimpsing the Emerald sheen and the image of the Dragon footprint on its surface, she smirked and realised that the Weihan she knew had placed the coin within her Powers. He had known all along that she would be with Emma and would be converting her…but he would more than likely not expect to have guessed their situation. Pocketing the Dragon Coin, she looked back just in time for Emma to shake her head vehemently.

"I can't pass this opportunity up! I will stay here and there is nothing you can do to make me leave!"

Placing the discarded paper back into his bag, Weihan nodded in supposed agreement and turned away from her once more to look out into the Harbour view. The clouds were rolling in and he had a feeling a storm was on the way. Of course, another storm was brewing in the girl behind him but that was slightly a moot point.

"Fine. So, you'll be staying here in a world that isn't yours, with parents that aren't yours and living a life that isn't yours to live while possibly condemning your duplicate to live in a world where her family is dead and she has to be hounded by monsters and creatures everywhere she goes? Not very fair, is it?"

Emma closed her eyes and seethed under her breath. He didn't understand! How could he not understand why she needed to stay? Her duplicate would be better off in her home dimension where she would be protected by the Rangers and living freely in the lap of luxury she had built for herself. Yet, there was that feeling of doubt once more. Her parents and brother were dead and all she had to remember them by were the photographs and the mud-caked phone on her desk. It wouldn't be fair to her double to put her in that sort of situation…but her parents and brother! Her family was waiting for her to reply or call…but it wasn't her parents. She would be living a – no, she had to stay here and be with her family. She shook her head once more and blocked her ears with her hands, as if to somehow silence the voices of guilt and doubt clamouring for her attention.

"Shut up! Shut the fuck up! I have a shot of happiness in front of me and you're telling me that it's not for me to decide? What bullshit is that?"

He cheered internally, knowing that he had hit the 'nail on the head', whatever that saying meant. His mind began to run a thousand times faster as he began to piece everything together for his 'finale'. He had heard Liz saying the Emma that she had a choice to be a Ranger and had seen her place something with a green shimmer in her pocket. He was willing to be t whatever cash was still in his bank account that it was a Power Coin and that Emma needed to take it for the team to be completed. Of course, when he got around to writing this scene in the story, he would have to either change a few details or rewrite it completely. Waiting for the Asian girl to stop shouting nothings in the air and waving off a few concerned people who wandered too close, he inhaled deeply and opened his mouth.

"You also had a choice in your world. Liz mentioned something about you thinking of 'joining up'. Would being a Ranger and fighting the good fight to ensure no one else has to feel the same way as you make you feel better? Or do you want to still stay here and live in this empty world with empty dreams?"

She shook her head weakly and slumped to the ground in defeat as the voices subsided somewhat. She knew she was being extremely selfish and that it had been a knee-jerk reaction from receiving the text from her parents. Her duplicate – wherever she was in the world – had her own life to live with her family and she had no right to take that away from someone. It would make her akin to the terrorists who had flown the planes into the towers and would place her double squarely into the realm of terror, fear and helplessness that she had felt. Kneeling down in front of her, he gingerly placed his right hand on her shoulder and spoke low and slow.

"I'm not saying you have to like it. My mother told me to 'fake it till you make it'. I'm sure there's some escape clause in the Ranger Powers somewhere down the line but I'm not the authority on your powers."

She nodded slowly and haltingly as the tears started to fall from her face. Without taking his eyes off the girl in front of him, he motioned for Liz to come closer. Reaching out blindly with his left hand, he felt something metallic and cool being pressed into his palm and closed his fingers around it. Whatever it was, it sang to him promises of power, strength and thankless fame. However, it also seemed subdued and mournful…almost as if it knew he wasn't the proper holder of the Coin. Flashes of imagery appeared in his mind's eye and he 'saw' the armours of the Rangers he had dreamt up. It was all very confusing to him and he had to constantly remind himself that he was separate from the Weihan that the Power had touched…but it was good to know that there was a dimension or plane out there where he was doing something better than what he was now.

He waited until her crying had stopped and lifted her chin with his right hand. He saw her unfocused eyes focus on the Emerald Coin in his left palm and saw the barest hint of determination flash in her eyes. Hearing the distant boom of an explosion coming from the road behind them, he placed the coin in her hands and closed her fingers over it.

"Stop running and start living."

TBC…


	40. 39: Dragon Birth

Chapter Thirty Nine: Dragon Birth

They ran towards the battle with purpose.

One was looking forward to finding a way to return home; back to the people she knew and loved. The other was trying to process the words she had heard from someone whose personality was much different than she knew. Tears streamed from her eyes as she kept repeating the same words over and over in her mind as she kept her right hand tightly clenched around the coin. She also tried to ignore the vibrations she could feel from the phone inside her jacket as she didn't need to start the cycle all over again. Slowing down, the two Rangers surveyed the damage that had resulted from the rampage of the monster and felt weary determination fill their bodies. The moment of quiet contemplation was broken by Liz's voice.

"We go in and we destroy the monster. That's the only way we can return."

Emma nodded slowly as she finally accepted what she had to do. A ripple of Power shot through her body as her mind was instantly connected to the Grid, never mind the fact that the world they were in didn't have a Grid. As the subtle changes and alterations inside her body began to take effect, she looked over to where the Ivory Ranger was thinking and opened her mouth. It wasn't so much that she was questioning Liz's ability to destroy the monster, just whether that would indeed send them back to their dimension. She also wondered why Liz seemed so intent on getting back to their world, a place where she had lost her boyfriend to the mystic arts of Weihan.

"Sure about that? I mean, what if –"

Liz shook her head as tears threatened to leak out of her eyes. She could forgive Emma for not being able to grasp the situation but her mind and heart were hers alone. And right now, they were telling her that the only way to get back was to destroy the monster – Dream Weaver. Even if it wasn't some sort of dream world and even if the monster had altered history somehow…she would get back home. Back to her friends and back to him…she shook her head, not wanting those thoughts to cloud her judgement. Opening her right palm, she stared at her Ivory Tiger coin and recalled the fierce determination and emotion in his dark brown eyes.

"I have to be sure. Anything else and…I don't know."

"You love him, don't you?"

She looked up sharply to see Emma looking at her with a knowing look. The new Ranger had seen the way Liz had interacted with Weihan at school, before battles and even the little things such as her support during Rachelle's break-up. Liz cursed herself for being so obvious and wondered if Weihan had picked up on it and, if he had, why hadn't he said anything to her about it. Everything was so complex and convoluted and, if she really wanted to read into the strange things the pink pony had been saying, it seemed like it was being shoehorned in for an excuse of characterisation and development. Rolling her eyes at the very thought, she opened her mouth and tried to ignore the feelings welling up within her.

"What? No…I…"

She closed her mouth and inhaled shakily. There was no denying that the mysterious boy had captured the attention of all the female students – and some of the teachers – in the school, but now that she knew his persona to the world was a façade built up to hide his Rangering from the world. Of course, there were some parts of his façade that weren't exaggerated such as his shyness around others, but when he was faced with a problem that needed solving…well; she needed to cool herself down. However, cooling herself down or thinking about the need to was pretty much concrete proof. She shook her head once more and decided to be completely honest with herself and her feelings. Bottling things up wasn't the smartest thing to do and she could probably count on Emma to stay silent while she dealt with everything in her own way.

"I do…God help me, I do but he's just too focused on everything and with Michael and now; it's just too confusing to me. I'm only going to think about the battles ahead of me and not get too carried away by my internal feelings."

Emma looked concerned. Liz was bottling up her feelings by not expressing them to the target of her affections. All right, maybe the target of her affections had other things on his mind but he deserved to know. Opening her mouth to tell her what she thought, she snapped it shut at the look Liz sent in her direction. She sighed as a loud explosion rang out close by. They really didn't have time for the bleeding heart stuff she had brought up but now that it was out in the open...well; there was nothing that could be done except try to resolve it any way she could. And yet, if Liz was going to bottle everything up; she could be hurt in the process.

"Is that wise? You don't want to get hurt in the long term."

Liz shook her head and closed off her mind to the conflicting emotions raging through her mind. She promised herself she would deal with everything when she got back. The road ahead was extremely uncertain and she needed to be on an even playing level with Weihan in order to make the correct decisions when the time came. Being hurt in the long run was always an option, but she would do whatever it took to clear her mind and see things with the insight and vision of the Ranger Legacy. Right now, the eyes of the Ranger Legacy were telling her to buckle down and prepare for a fight. She paused and grimaced as the mental image of what the 'Eyes of the Ranger Legacy' would look like flashed into her mind. Well, she wouldn't be eating anything spherical for a while…

"I'd get more hurt from the monsters. Let's go."

The Ivory Ranger took off, leaving Emma behind. The Asian shook her head slowly and hoped Liz wasn't setting herself up for a major fall down the track. Glancing behind her, Emma could see the forms of this world's Weihan and Bree trailing some distance behind them. A wry smile spread out over her face as it seemed no matter what dimension Weihan was in, he always seemed to act in the same way. She wondered why that was so and if the events of the past few hours would impact on whatever story he was writing. It all seemed very Meta to her and, if she was honest with herself, it made her wonder if there was a link between the dimensions. Shaking her head, she put her head down and ran to catch up with Liz.

As she neared the battlefield, she skidded to a stop as she saw the bodies on the street. People lay strewn across the ground like discarded toys; over cars, wrapped around poles or – most disturbingly of all – unmoving and totally pale without a hint of injury…almost as if they had just sat on the curb and stopped moving. A violent shudder wracked her body and she briefly wondered if she had made the right choice. Being a Ranger meant she would be faced with death all the time and there was no where she could run to get away from it. Swallowing down the bile that creeped up the back of her throat, she tried to rationalise with herself. Death was a part of life and wasn't something to be frightened of. On the other hand, that only counted for fairly mundane deaths from old age, disease or freak accidents and certainly didn't cover having one's head skewered with a knitting needle weapon.

"That's enough from you!"

The monster turned almost lazily, which wasn't a good sign, and looked at the Rangers. It flicked its right wrist once to allow the unmoving body to fly off the spike embedded in its head and lifted the blood-streaked 'blade' to its head. Dream Weaver chuckled low, once, before fixing Liz with a steely gaze.

"Ranger, so nice to see you again…I promise you that what happened before will not happen again. You will die here and the world will be ripe for the picking!"

Emma shook her head and gripped her coin tighter. This world, whatever it really was, didn't deserve to be destroyed by some twisted creature. There was no saving those who had already been killed by the monster, but perhaps its destruction would give the grieving families some degree of closure. She wondered what she would ever do if those who had planned the attacks were ever caught or killed, but that would be in the future and back in her own dimension. She sneered and refocused her mind back on the battle to come.

"Don't bet on it bug face. We're going to shatter your dreams for good!"

In the same freaky unison that most other Rangers seemed to have, they flipped their Crystal Coins into the air. The discs hung in id-flip for a few seconds before seemingly blinking out of existence. Dream Weaver laughed as the Coins vanished as the energies of the world they were in were finally acting to expel the…untoward elements. Of course, as the world had probably been created by him, the untoward elements would be those that didn't seem to service his goal of ravaging the world around him. However, the twin flashes of white and green that came a split second later made his gut tighten. Flicking the excess blood off his weapons, he prepared to charge when a small thought wormed its way into the forefront of his mind. He had seen two flashes, yet there had only been one Ranger that had been brought into this place…right? The other was a civilian who had smartly declined the offer and there was no way that the other Ranger could have possibly brought along a Coin…

"Crystal Morph!"

Emma thrust her left arm out and saw an energy cocoon wrap around Liz a split second before her vision was obscured by crackling Emerald energy. Looking into the swirls of green around her, her eyes widened as various images started to appear. She saw herself surrounded by monsters that defied all description, saw her looking down at a strangely still body of someone on the ground and, even stranger, saw her in front of what looked to be a dragon made of pure shadow. The strange and disjointed qualities of the images almost made her want to break free of the madness she had apparently agreed to but a small voice in the back of her mind soothed her that it would all make sense. She knew in her heart that whatever the voice was, it was correct, but still she vowed to keep a healthy grip on scepticism.

The green armoured bodysuit snapped into place on her body and silenced the vibrations of her phone. As with the other Crystal Rangers, the same half-torso armoured covering appeared on her shoulders but seemed to have slightly more intricacy. A sudden weight on her hip told her that the holster containing her 'Crystal Blaster' had appeared and she wondered about the significance of the strange red-spattered gloves that slid over her hands. if she didn't know any better, she would have said they were akin to gloves worn by murderers, yet she dismissed the idea as stupid. As the slightly surreal images faded back into the swirling maelstrom, a small smile spread across her face as she saw the various helmets of all the Green Rangers of the past appear – almost as if they were giving her strength and courage. She blinked at a strangely equine helmet before shaking her head in disbelief. It seemed almost impossible and insane that a unicorn could be a Ranger but she supposed anything was possible.

Information poured into her mind as she heard the bellowing roar of the Dragon around her. Fighting styles, weapon tactics and various ways to channel her power flowed through her mind and, for the briefest of moments, she felt like she could take on the world. The shimmering wall of energy wrapped around her head and she closed her eyes as she imagined it coalescing into a helmet that, visually at least, looked like the helmet of the original Green Ranger – sans the mouth-plate. Opening her eyes at the click of the helmet closing around her head, she looked at the HUD that was flickering on and, to her amusement, saw that what she had imagined was actually true. The energy cocoon shimmered once before breaking apart as her limbs automatically moved in a pose of sorts. She opened her mouth to say some sort of pre-battle taunt…but all that seemed to come out was the Power Declaration.

"Ivory Tiger Crystal Ranger, ready."

"Emerald Dragon Crystal Ranger, ready."

And then her legs propelled her into the battle. The monster didn't even have a chance to blink before she was upon him, her legs and fists acting – seemingly – of their own accord. She knew the Power was helping her in the first few moments before it fizzled out. Her flailing feet smashed twice across the head of Dream Weaver and she felt the monstrosity stagger back in surprise. Ducking under a swipe from one of its 'blades', she slammed her right fist into its gut, opened her fingers and pushed out. Almost instantly, a pulse of green light blasted out from her palm and knocked the monster back a good distance. She blinked in shock as the rush of Power left her body and looked at her hand in shock, completely missing Liz's leap above her head. If this was what being a Ranger was like…

"Crystal Blaster, fire!"

Blinking out of her thoughts, she looked up to see Liz firing at the downed monster with her Crystal Blaster. Emma had no idea why she called her attacks like that, but deduced it to be an aspect of the Power running through her body. Her eyes traced the path of the white bolts as they lanced through the air and exploded against the strange patterns on the belly of the beast. Dream Weaver roared in pain and leapt to his feet, strange rings of energy seemingly blasting out of his antennae. Liz carefully adjusted her aim and blasted away each of the rings as they neared her. As the last energy ring puffed out of existence, Liz raised her arms to the sky and called out the name of her weapon.

"Ivory Spear!"

In a mirror of the 'battle-switch', Emma leapt over Liz's head – narrowly avoiding being hit with the materialising Ivory Spear – and angled her body into a flying kick. Dream Weaver dodged the attack and focused his attention on the strange Ranger that had appeared. He wished he had the foresight to bring along some Golems or Fiends but that would mean sullying the reputation he had built up over the eons…and Lyncherot would be frowning on him for using 'other tools'. It didn't mean he was outmatched but he would have to work somewhat harder against two Rangers than he would have against one. He just hoped he didn't have one of those 'failure moments' that had been catalogued throughout every monster battle. Having one of them against two Rangers would not end well for him. On the other hand, if he won he could track down the girl with the strange energy projection ability and bend her to his will. Yes, the girl would break easily with repeated uses of his…method. He chuckled darkly as he continued to fend off the strikes of the Green Ranger and barked harshly.

"Foolish Rangers; you will be destroyed where you stand!"

Ducking under a double-handed swipe, Emma clenched her teeth together and rolled between the legs of the monster. She could hear Liz attacking with her spear and conjured up an image of her weapon in her mind. To her eyes it looked similar to a weapon she had seen the Evil Green Ranger use, but she would have to summon it to make sure. She just hoped the person who was the Evil Green Ranger didn't have a panic attack or something when seeing the weapon. That would make for interesting viewing for sure. Blasting a wave of energy out of her palm, Emma concentrated on the image of the weapon and shouted out the name.

"Dragon Blade!"

In a flash of light and the echoing screech of a Dragon ringing in her ears, her Dragon Blade materialised in her hand. It was a shallowly curved sword in the shape of an 'S' with a few spherical red gems set into the cross-guard. At the base of the blade was a small representation of her Dragon Crystal Coin and three red tassels hung off the end of the handle. Spending a few more moments to admire the workmanship of the blade and listening to the musical sound it made when she slashed it through the air, the Emerald Dragon Crystal Ranger turned back towards the battle in inhaled slowly.

With no fancy cries, she ran towards the monster and made a jumping feint. When the creature moved to block what it expected would be a high attack, she dropped to the ground and used her momentum to perform a charged sliding attack. The edge of the Dragon Blade bit deeply into the lines on the monster and drew trails of green-grey blood. Wrenching out the blade with a flick of her wrist, she rolled to a standing position and held the weapon in an offensive stance. Moving her left hand down slightly, she brushed against one of the orbs and felt it move in slightly with an almost imperceptible click. Small flickers of green flame ran down the blade and Emma smiled under her helmet, although she couldn't exactly say why. Raising the weapon above her head, she mentally 'pushed' more power down her arm and into the three orbs; fuelling the flames even more. Shifting her stance the barest fraction, she ran at the wounded monster yet again and slashed down, pouring all of her bottled anger, rage and frustration into the strike.

The blade bit into the monster yet again and, this time, sliced deeply into the thick muscle. The flames cauterised the wound in an instant but left the pain throbbing like nothing Dream Weaver had ever experienced before. The Emerald Dragon Ranger pulled out the blade as thin rivulets of blood from the earlier non-cauterised wound welled and dripped over the gash like a macabre waterfall. The monster roared in pain and suddenly thrust out both arms with the 'blades' extended, surprising Emma as she wasn't able to defend against the sudden attack. She felt the pain of the points against her armour and prayed that it was strong enough to keep her insides from being skewered. The armour held – barely. As she collapsed to the ground, she saw the various warnings and errors flashing up on her HUD and wondered if being a Ranger would mean facing potential injury like this. Well, there was no turning back now.

"Hey Dream Weaver! It's time to pull the plug on this nightmare for good!"

From her position on the ground, Emma looked up to see Liz holding her Ivory Spear levelled at Dream Weaver. Whatever she was doing, Emma hoped it would end the battle swiftly as she was starting to run out of ideas. Most of the tactics the strange infodump had placed in her mind were only viable options with all seven Crystal Rangers on the field and some of them required at least one or two Ultra Rangers as well. Grumbling to herself as she struggled to push through the pain and get back to her feet, she wondered exactly how she would be able to improve her skills with using her Dragon Blade. Perhaps she could learn from one of the Rangers or, if it was possible, to learn from the original Green Ranger himself. Shakily rising to a semi-kneeling position, she looked up at a low humming to see a strange cone of energy form around the tip of her spear.

Raising her right hand, she pointed at the weapon of the Ivory Ranger and concentrated hard. A few moments, not even half a second, later a thin band of shimmering green energy leapt from the tip of her finger and mixed in seamlessly with the off-white energy, creating a barbershop pole effect. Liz seemed surprised for a moment before looking at her and nodding once. Emma stopped the flow of energy and pulled out her Crystal Blaster, keeping it aimed at Dream Weaver in case it did anything strange. The monster seemed to be standing still with an almost resigned look on its face…as if all of its efforts and hardships through the years it had been alive had, ultimately, been for naught. Emma looked away, not wanting to see the end of the monster.

"Drill Thrust!"

Dream Weaver saw the energy drill come closer and sighed softly. It was almost ironic to be destroyed in a world of his own making…yet there was a strange quality that he had noticed through his stay. The world didn't seem to be accepting his commands as he had been trying to make himself appear more human to the outside world. It was almost as if…he shook his head as time seemed to slow down. No, he was the master of dreams and elaborate fantasies and even if his magic had improved it still shouldn't have been enough to open a portal into another dimension. Unless – but that was insane. He felt a slight pressure on his chest and looked down to see the energy drill boring into his chest, strangely generating very little pain. Sighing again, he rolled his eyes once and gave up. Oh well, it wasn't his problem anymore. The last thing he saw before the infinite void was the flash of fire coming from his exploding body.

Liz watched the monster fall back and explode in a ball of light and thunder. Dismissing her weapon, she walked over to Emma and helped the other girl to her feet. The area around them was trashed and the bodies…she tried her hardest to not look at any of them too closely. Both of them demorphed in a flash of light and waited for…something. She wasn't sure what it was, but there was a low buzzing emanating from somewhere close by. A chill swept through her body as she wondered what they would do if destroying the monster didn't have the effect they were hoping for. She shook her head violently and forced herself to calm down, He wouldn't allow two of his friends to stay lost to him and he would be finding them wherever they were.

"That was…intense. And cool as fuck."

Looking over her shoulder, she smiled faintly as she saw the thin figure of Weihan walking past the carnage and chaos their fight had wreaked. Bree was hanging back and keeping her distance from the chaos. It looked like she was talking on the phone to someone, but she was too far for anything to be heard. Emma nodded once and looked down at her right hand and the Emerald Coin that had materialised after her armour had fallen away. Waiting for the Asian boy to come up alongside them, she opened her mouth to speak when she noticed it. Liz looked closer at her fingers and saw, to her horror, that they were dissolving into dust. If this was a side-effect of the monster's blades, they would be fucked. She looked up at Weihan, hoping he would know what was going on.

"What's happening to us?"

He pursed his lips and shook his head sadly. Turning away, he looked around at the destruction around him. The world would be changing yet again and it seemed that he would be in the centre of the change. He would use this opportunity to improve his story, to make some of the parts hit closer to the emotional highs and some parts…well; he didn't want to give too much away. That would almost be like the strange pink pony he kept seeing in his dreams. Thinking up a solution which would satisfy them, he turned and opened his mouth to speak. Much to his surprise, more than half of their bodies had dissolved – with them now looking like floating heads.

"You must be going back. This world, despite what you think, isn't a by-product of that monster and his magic. I'm real, Bree is real and the people around us are real…it's the two of you that didn't belong here."

Liz nodded once before she vanished from his view. He turned to Emma and mustered up a small smile as the first sirens broke through the crackle of fire around them.

"Remember: fake it till you make it."

And with that…they were gone.

TBC…


	41. 40: Overcomplicated

AN/Disclaimer: I don't own any of the trademarks in this chapter. Which should be really obvious.

Chapter Forty: Overcomplicated

"And it was a black shadow that came out?"

Liz sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Upon their return, both Liz and Emma were shocked and stunned to see that no time had passed since their departure. People had greeted them and had expressed some small degree of confusion over the strange noises coming from their location. Emma had instantly gone to check her phone to confirm that they hand, indeed, travelled dimensions. The messages that had been received prior to the battle with Dream Weaver were all there and Liz could see that Emma had to literally bite her tongue to keep herself composed. The next port of call was to find the Orange Ranger and tell him everything that had happened, including showing him the messages and an article from the newspaper that she had discreetly ripped out. To her amazement, Weihan seemed to be taking their little journey into another timeline pretty well. Creating duplicates of himself, Liz and Emma, he had teleported the three of them to the Ultra Cavern and had asked them to repeat every single detail of their journey…including the monster and its supposed powers.

It had been in the middle of the explanation of the first battle when he had sat up quickly and asked her to slowly repeat what she had just said. Nodding at her explanation, he stood and walked to one of the consoles near the Simul-Deck. Opening a panel on the underside, he pulled out a strange bicycle helmet-looking device and motioned for the two girls to come to him. As they neared him, he sighed once more and looked at them. There was no doubt in his mind that what they had been through had actually occurred as there had been reports in Zordon's Archives of monsters with that exact power throughout the centuries. There was also a note regarding Dulcea's ability to do the same thing but the information around that was somewhat sketchy at best.

"You'll need your memories to be downloaded into the Simul-Deck for future reference. It's not a pleasant experience but it is one that will be worthwhile."

Liz nodded slowly and took the strange helmet from his hands. Slipping it over her head, she noticed that Emma didn't have the same device and looked at him quizzically. He waved it off, but she could tell instantly that her experience would be much worse than Emma's as she had actually witnessed the strange shadows that had come out. After going through a checklist of preparations, the Orange Ranger exhaled slowly and pressed the switch for the memory download. At first, there was nothing spectacular about it – just a low humming noise that seemed to come from everywhere at once. Images were brought into her mind's eye of people, places and things that had she had never seen but were apparently in the databanks of the Simul-Deck. Bloodied faces lurched out of the cloud and monster armies raged everywhere. The sky was burning and she swore she could smell the choking smell of sulphur coming from close by. However, the images and imagined smells vanished as soon as they had arrived. She exchanged a wry look with Emma and mentally braced herself for the actual memory download.

It started out somewhat bearable and it was akin to having a bee extremely close to the ears, the sound seemingly coming from everywhere at once. After that was the itching sensation inside her head that wasn't altogether very pleasant but it was slightly more bearable than the sound was. Her face contorted into a grimace as the sensation intensified, almost as if a thousand ants were crawling around the inside of her skull. Struggling to stay upright, she forced herself to look at the Orange Ranger. For the briefest of instances, his face was replaced with a visage of death. He was pale, unmoving and covered with blood. Scratches and gouges lined his face and there was a gaping hole in his chest. She swallowed down the bile as she realised she could literally see straight through him. Blinking once more, the image had vanished. Emma was screaming out loud and she briefly wondered if the Ultra Cavern was soundproofed. If not, the various campers that had – despite the various warnings and idiotic deaths – still continued to make a home around there would know where they were. She squinted her eyes shut as the images from the past few hours popped up from her mind…including the conversation with Emma right before the second engagement. She scrambled to hold onto that memory and not allow it to be sucked into the Simul-Deck. It was too soon for him to be finding out about her feelings

"Hang in there, girls."

Liz's breathing started to get shallower and her legs began to buckle from the exertion. She could 'see' the battle with Dream Weaver again and her stomach churned as she could see the faces of the dead. The sensation in her mind grew slightly more intense before suddenly dropping away into nothingness. The Ivory Ranger collapsed to her knees as she recovered her breath and slowly took off the helmet from her head. Crawling to the console, she shakily placed it on the top of the metallic box before looking at the screen, well; what she could see of it anyway. Images were being moved into various folders in the databanks like some giant computer system. She idly wondered if it was based on the Microsoft model, the Apple model or something entirely different. Somehow, she didn't think it would matter anyway. She shook her head and looked up at the sound of a slap. Weihan was staggering away from Emma with a hand clutched to his right cheek. The Asian was livid.

"What the hell was that all about?"

Weihan shook his head slowly and touched the tender area lightly. The blow hadn't done too much damage but it would still ache for a while. Still, he couldn't believe that Liz had made good on bringing Emma into the fold of the Crystal Rangers. A full team would be great to beat back the forces of Jabarkas and, whenever he came back, Xonix. He was positively drooling at seeing what their combined Megazord would look like, although a small part of him informed him that the 'Main' Megazord had already been formed in the battle with that creature that was made of chain. Well, a seven Zord biped would be a sight to behold anyway. Touching the tender spot one last time, he walked over to the main screening area of the Simul-Deck and opened the control menu, his voice holding a slightly distracted tone to it as he scanned through the downloaded memories.

"It would have taken too long for her to recall everything about the battle scene and for some reason, the recorders in the suit didn't capture as much as you thought they would. The best recollection of the entire scene is here."

He tapped the side of his head. He was certain he was driving a Mac truck through all fields of 'modern' medical science and knowledge, but it wasn't like his theories were going out into the public awareness.

"The eyes see and the conscious mind absorbs the information but everything is stored in the unconscious. It's like a sponge, if you'll pardon the comparison. Soaking up water and squeezing it out but the sponge still holds tiny droplets of water inside itself. With the Simul-Deck, I can look at the information in its 'purest' form."

Satisfied that his words weren't going to melt their brains or something, he pulled out the small wheeled stool and flicked through the images frame by frame. It was a tiring process, but he didn't mind if it would give them an edge against Xonix. The only times he actually had to sit up and take notice were the words in the book of the other Weihan, the kiss that had been seen between 'him' and Bree and the first battle with Dream Weaver. He watched the scene play out in normal time and then frame-by-frame. Saving the portion of the file, he transferred it to the Main Computer banks and wheeled himself over to the one that was closest to the Dimensional Doorway. There had been no calls for assistance since the battle with Tricksy's monster but there was always a slim chance that something could have happened. On the other hoof, the only real reason Billy would have to contact him other than a monster problem was if they had regained their memories about their massive orgy…but he doubted that would be the case. They wouldn't believe it anyway without concrete proof and he knew Billy had the images and recordings shuttered up tighter than…and he needed to stop that train of thought before he lost track of everything. As the black could began to come out, his mouth dropped open.

"Jesus H Christ…what the fuck was that?"

Emma rolled her eyes and threw her hands up into the air. It was also the first time she had seen the black shadow come out of the girl, but she knew better than to express her disbelief out loud. Plus, she was still fighting the feelings that were threatening to overwhelm her, most prominent of them was the uncertain feeling that maybe she should have stuck to her guns a bit more. Pushing the feeling down once again, she leant in closer to the Orange Ranger and spoke in an almost sneering tone.

"If you don't know what it was, then we're back to square one."

Liz tapped her chin with a finger and looked around them at the rest of the Ultra Cavern. Although she had been gawking at her Zord at the time, she recalled overhearing the blue armoured warrior talking to him about something in the Archives. She had no idea what sort of archives they were or if they would be of any use to them, but it was like her eyes had been opened wider by their dimensional travel. She now needed to look for information in the most unlikely of places and begin to question everything around her that wasn't set in the strongest of stones.

"I don't know…could it be in some archives or something?"

Pausing the image, Weihan chewed on his lower lip. Something like this would have to be in the Archives as Zordon could have possibly known something about it. Barring that, he supposed he could ask the other 'heroes of Good' that were around circa Zordon's era such as King Lexian or even Auric but he seriously doubted their knowledge and recall would be as great. The only other option was to get it out of Rita or Edward but he didn't want to trek down to Briarwood for a while. The first time had been more than enough…and there was something about the forest that creeped him out and had absolutely nothing to do with the giant spider he glimpsed through the trees.

However, something wormed up from the very recesses of his mind. Something he had seen while he had been on Eltare and before he had looked through the Zord blueprints. There had been something about a Prophecy that centred on the rise of three creatures known as the Elemental Dragons. It had sounded extremely hokey to him and rivalled the Prophecy of Ultra for disjointed words and extremely convoluted processes for its fulfilment. It had something to do with 'powers drawing together, only to be split apart' and had mentioned that the Bearers would 'make themselves known before the time of joining'…whatever that was supposed to mean.

"I'll have to look through them. Maybe one of the others knows something about this but there is a strange prophecy relating to creatures called Elemental Dragons. Maybe we've found one."

Ignoring the strange looks the others were giving him, Weihan mulled over his words once more. There was nothing to suggest that the Elemental Dragons weren't actual people around him, nor was there anything that suggested they could surpass the Interdimensional Walls. Yet, he still couldn't shake the images that popped up in his mind's eye of the strange Morphers that he had seen in Zordon's little infodump. Absently, he wondered how AJ would take it if her sister were to be inducted into the ranks of the Rangers and mentally touched the raw end of their mental link. Swallowing hard to rid himself of the lump in his throat, he spun around to speak to the Rangers when the Communication Station on the Dimensional Doorway began blaring. Shooting up from his seated position, he ran to the console and accepted the call. As the image on screen cleared, he could see Princess Luna's worried face and, once again, could hear the distant booms of explosions. Before he could speak, Luna opened her mouth and cut him off.

"Night Shade has revealed his true colours. We're overwhelmed with monsters that are coming from everywhere at once! We need help!"

Weihan nodded once and promised to be there as soon as they could. Closing the communication link, he turned around to face the two Crystal Rangers. Ignoring the outright flabbergasted look on Emma's face, he closed his eyes and created a duplicate of himself, infusing it with enough energy to last a few weeks at least. If Night Shade had shown his true colours, then maybe he would get some answers on the strange connections he had made in his mind. Opening his eyes, he looked to Liz and spoke in a tone that conveyed extreme urgency.

"Gather everyone. Now."

TBC…


	42. 41: Breaching the Wall

Chapter Forty One: Breaching the Wall

It was a massive machine.

The Plane Crosser was roughly as tall as of one of the two-storey houses he had seen on the planet and it seemed to be capable of powering itself, which was both amazing…and slightly worrying. Jabarkas walked around it once more and brushed off the feeling that had been running through his body that something had changed for a split second. Shaking his head, he wondered how Dream Weaver and Lyncherot had managed to lug it around before dismissing it. Dream Weaver was a fool if he thought that he could take on the Rangers on his own but the strange hybrid had his own plans and agendas. It had been sheer luck that the creature had dumped the device in a fairly protected part of the Moon Palace before jetting off to begin his plan or something.

The most distinguishing thing of the Plane Crosser was the door-sized opening in the very centre. It was surrounded by a semi-circle of holes that seemed like vents of some kind. A small control panel was set inside a small alcove and there was a screen that was presumably used for communication with whatever being was being summoned or something like that. Just thinking about it was starting give him a headache as two way communication would presumably require the other party to be around extremely advanced technology. And seeing that the only ones with sufficiently advanced technology in any plane of existence would be the Power Rangers…

He shook his head. He would have to be very careful when scanning the dimensions for good creatures as he didn't want to accidentally summon more Rangers into this dimension. Dealing with the strange ponies a few years ago had been more than he could have handled. Running a hand over the sleek metallic finish, he idly flicked on the power button to begin scanning through the dimensions. It would work better if there was a fresh signal that was floating around that could be latched onto, but he supposed there was no way that he could somehow piggyback onto the signal used by the Ultra Rangers. He still hadn't figured out how Creeper had done it and no amount of questioning Psychogre before his destruction had garnered an answer that would be useful to him. Tapping the keys to start the search for dimensional signatures on the island below, he heard something deep within the machine hum to life as panels slid aside to reveal screens covered in graphs and tables.

"That is one graph-covered device. Why do you need to know about signal strength and variable energy efficiency anyway?"

Jabarkas snorted in surprise and looked behind him to see Twinlobe sliding out from a nearby shadow. The Anishan was becoming quite the handful at times but there was no good reason for him and Yit to be shipped off to another one of his Master's conquests. Of course, that was due to no actual conquests happening anywhere but that was beside the point. The army of Xonix was languishing in some forgotten corner of the Universe and was itching to swarm over any opposition in its path. As Top Warrior, he could easily give the fleet orders to which planet to conquer, but Xonix was needed to have the final 'stamp of approval'. This stamp could be skipped for the first few times, but if used too rapidly in succession, they would begin to get suspicious. He was waiting for the perfect time to use his Power and send the fleet against the Earth but, as always, the spectre of Xonix held him back. Rapping it on its side, he spoke absently.

"This is the Plane Crosser that Lyncherot had. Unfortunately, he was destroyed before payment could be made but he apparently forgot to mention that part to Dream Weaver."

Twinlobe shook his head, tucking that bit of information away for later use before making a face and deleting it form memory. There wasn't much use in storing blackmail away if the two 'witnesses' had been destroyed. There was not doubt in his mind that Dream Weaver had been destroyed as he had mentally analysed the strange rippling sensation he had felt for the briefest of instants. There was no need to tell Jabarkas that for a moment, history had changed and become something totally different. He had tasted a world where there were no Ultra Rangers, no Power Rangers and where he was hailed as a King on Anisha IV. However, as soon as it had come, the feeling vanished into nothingness. It was probably due to the dimension collapsing in on itself but he wasn't so sure. That dimensional plane had felt solid and had all the hallmarks of being an independent dimension. Well, it was another thing to look into.

"Dream Weaver…is he still around here? I felt a shudder like he had been destroyed but if there was no battle…"

Jabarkas grunted under his breath. The Anishan knew something about what had happened, but he didn't care to know what it was. The interesting bit with looking for dimensional signals in a place where the Ultra Rangers were was that almost every person, object or creature that had ever been in a certain area had a unique signature of their own. Tracking down each path would more than likely lead back to the starting point, but there was something in the Plane Crosser that allowed such a feat to happen on multiple 'threads' at once. If he was working with a 'normal' dimensional crosser, that task would have taken the better part of several years…and the Plane Crosser was banging them out at an unprecedented rate. That probably explained why so many screens were needed. Too bad he didn't have enough eyes to look at all of them. Apparently taking his grunt for an answer, Twinlobe continued on.

"Oh well, I always thought he would get himself…wait. What's that light?"

Jabarkas looked up to see a small blue light rotating under one of the screens on the topmost row. Rolling his eyes in frustration, he tapped a few controls on the keypad and brought the contents of the screen in question down to a more…manageable level. Most of the information on the screen seemed like the remains of a Heinan Hound's morning meal but he was able to see a few interesting bits of information. The first bit was that the signal had decayed at a fair rate and was around two or so years old. He heard a faint flickering sound as the database of the Plane crosser cross-referenced wirelessly the databanks deep below the Moon Palace and pinged as they found a match for the energy.

"Judging from the rate of decay, this signature is a few years old but the magic markers…"

His jaw dropped slowly as the information filtered to his brain. The dimensional signature lead to the same dimension in which those Pony Rangers had come from but there was no reason for him to be there. He rationalised it as being the only way that he would have been able to survive, yet there had been no contact for some reason. Perhaps amnesia had shrouded his thoughts and memories; yet that was a confusing thought in and of itself. If contact was made, he would have to judge exactly how much was remembered and how much was still in the void.

"Impossible but it makes sense to why I couldn't find him in the Universe."

His fingers flew over the keypad swiftly, while his mind raced alongside. The opening of the doorway would require a great amount of power and energy – something that the Rangers could easily pick up on from their base. He didn't want any Rangers dropping in while the doorway was opening and he doubted the one on the other side would want it as well. This left him in a bit of a bind as, judging by the meters his Master had left, the next monster wasn't due to awaken for another several hours at least and the next of his monster mercenary force wasn't due to arrive for a few days. He could send down a Golem squadron, but that would keep them wary for a follow-up attack. He shook his head and pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind. He would worry about piercing the dimensional barriers and making contact bit first.

"Is there a way we can make contact?"

He chewed his lower lip and winced as one of his teeth penetrated into the flesh. The sweetish-metallic taste of his blood swirled around his tongue as command after command was hammered into the strangely archaic user interface. There was a progress bar of some sort in the top right corner but there was nothing on screen to indicate what it was for. For all he knew, it was a progress bar indicating the time until lunch. Sucking the blood out of his lip, he began muttering under his breath as the information flowed up from top to bottom at an extremely rapid pace. He hadn't seen text flying up this fast since his long-forgotten days as a Ranger…

"Judging by these readings, there is a way but it will take some measure of time to break through the wall. The machine can lock on to the magic signal but it cannot establish a connection if there is no communication equipment nearby."

A soft chime nearby made him blink in surprise as the progress bar showed full completion. All of the information on the screen, text and all, vanished to be replaced with a screen full of static. As he watched, the static started to clear away and reveal a few figures staring at them.

"Huh. That didn't take long at all. Just wait a few moments…connection seems clear and strong."

The image cleared to reveal…a pitch black pony with a yellow and white streaked mane. A jagged and twisted green and white horn protruded from the middle of its forehead and it stared into the screen with eyes that, strangely, seemed to change into different colours. It was an overall unnerving sight, but Jabarkas knew who it was immediately. He bowed low to the pony and spoke three words.

"We are coming."

TBC…


	43. 42: Fleet

Chapter Forty Two: Fleet

"Ah don't get it at all."

Bree shook her head and held her head in her hands. This Accounting problem was more than a match for her to handle and she knew it. Unfortunately, the others had gone off to the Ultra Cavern to induct Emma as an 'official' Ultra Ranger…which left her to get the homework. She didn't mind it though as it took her mind off the murders that had been happening, not to mention the fact that almost everyone she had become friends with was suddenly getting greatness thrust into their lives. All right, maybe said greatness was somewhat tarnished due to the monsters and threats that came along with it, but greatness was greatness…no matter how much one had to pay for it. Throwing down the book in disgust, she looked around furtively to see if anyone had noticed the sudden noise. However, midday in the Stanton Library was one of their most quiet times, so no one really cared much about a lone girl in the uniform of a nearby college.

It just wasn't fair! AJ had been able to briefly don the uniform of the White Ultra Ranger for a short battle but had actively discouraged her looking for a Power Source of her own. She understood not wanting her younger sister to be harmed by evil, but she was old enough to make her own decisions about the company she kept. The good thing about it was that her sister had finally stopped worrying about Weihan…in an overt manner that was. The family friend in San Angeles she had only met a few times before, but he was a good man at heart. He sometimes went off the rails a tiny bit when engrossed in one of his projects, but the family butler would be there to take care of his needs. She hoped he didn't do something amazingly stupid in the future and have to be bailed out by the Rangers, though with his level of intellect and intelligence she would have thought that he would make his own team of Rangers. Self made bajillionare or not, there was no way in Hell that Andrew Hartford would ever be making Power Rangers.

Shaking away those thoughts, she opened her bag and pulled out the other 'book' she needed to read. Because she was now part of the 'inner circle' of the Rangers, Weihan had decreed that she be given things to do that would be of some help to them in the future. He had added that she could get help from her sister if she needed, but she had a strange feeling that the Orange Ranger didn't want to involve AJ any more than she already was. Looking at the book, she felt a strange feeling run through her body. It was almost as if there was something in her that was stirring to life…but from just looking at an, admittedly slim, ancient tome? Her eyes ran over the intricate design on the cover and marvelled at the detail the Ancients had put into the engraving. If she wanted to be entirely honest with herself, it looked much like one of the Ranger Emblems that had been popping up on belt buckles these days. It was an inverted triangle, rimmed in gold with small circles at each of the points. Inside the circles were strange images that, to her eyes at least, looked like the engravings that were on the Power Coins…but to the best of her knowledge, there were only seven Power Coins in their dimension; not counting the Crystal Power Coins and the Ultra Power Coins.

One of the images looked like a dragon in mid-flight while the other two were of strange and abstract designs. One looked like Weihan's never-used Turbozord – a strange mix of flesh and technology that reminded her of what it would be like if the Dinozords were turned into cars. Chuckling lightly at that mental image, she looked around once more to see if anyone had heard her. As before, the area around her was empty and she relaxed slightly. She had gone to the most secluded, most private place in the Library so there was no chance in Hell of her being spotted. She had even overheard a couple of the security staff talking about how one of the attacks in North Sydney had knocked out the wiring to the cameras in her section, so she knew the cameras weren't recording her. And no one really cared for the dank and dusty halls that held many books that were held behind glass cases anyway. She had wandered through the halls for a while before sitting down and had seen several things that made her start questioning how far back the Ranger Legacy stretched.

Seeing still images of the long-forgotten Rangers from the attack several years ago still brought her mind into sharp focus. The fear that flooded through her body at the sight of the monster bearing down on her and the panic she had felt when she realised there was no way out. If it wasn't for the timely arrival of the Orange Ranger in his fancy new armour, they would have been killed for sure. Then again, she hadn't known it had been the Orange Ranger and had thought it had been another monster that was going to kill them. Sleepless nights had reigned for a few months after that, with AJ always comforting her and telling her not to worry about things. That it would all make sense eventually. However, her sister had seemed to forget the words over the years and, as such, they had been surprised as everyone else when the Orange Ranger had 'first' burst onto the scene.

Shaking her head once more, she turned to regard the last image in the final circle. Unlike the others, it was slightly less defined and almost looked like two images had been crammed in the same space. They were images of dinosaurs – she could see as much – but they seemed to blend into each other. One was a theropod with an oddly shaped crest on the top of its head. If she had to compare it to anything, it would be compared to the Dinozord of the Purple Ranger…yet, it seemed less bull-like than the Carnotaurus was. As she peered closer to it, an image swam up from the depths of her memory to reveal the album covers that her mother always listened to. The unique hairstyle of Elvis Presley that looked similar to the crest on its head. Biting back a laugh at that comparison, she squinted at the other dinosaur, but it was too undefined for her to make out its features. Shaking her head once more, she lifted her hands to open the book when a strange feeling washed through her body.

It wasn't an altogether unpleasant feeling but it made her pause for a few moments. There was a sound on the bare fringes of her hearing, almost like a triumphant roaring or something. She stood up and stretched her arms over her head, feeling a slight electrical crackling run through her hair. Great, as if she didn't have enough to worry about with the rest of the team leaving her out of things, AJ's constant worry and the threat of Xonix maybe coming back from whatever hole he had hidden in. Settling back down into the chair, she adjusted her clothes and opened the book. The slight electrical crackle grew louder and she could see small lines of silver and purple energy running along the cover and over her fingers. Dropping the book in surprise, she sighed and pulled out her phone. Meeting the rest of the Ultra Rangers had the beneficial side-effect of getting the phone numbers of a few of them for help when the Orange Ranger wasn't around. Using her communicator would just draw undue attention to her, even in the seclusion of her location.

She was just ready to type out the message to send to the Purple and Silver Rangers when the building shook. It wasn't something that came from the ground up, like an earthquake, but it seemed to come from outside. Eyes widening in alarm, she stuffed the book back into her bag – ignoring the tingles of energy running over her skin – and bent down to pick up her discarded Accounting textbook from the ground. As she placed it in her bag, she happened to glance out one of the tinted windows to her left. What she saw made her scramble for her communicator, worry about discovery all but forgotten and the first muffled screams reaching her ears. Strange claw-shaped things were diving from the skies, blasting green blobs of energy down at the civilians. Slinging her bag onto her back, the zipper half-closed, she ran to the window and looked up at the sky as it…flickered.

The optical camouflage fell away to reveal a huge spaceship roughly the length of two city blocks. She could see the arsenal of weapons that ran along its side and the way it seemed to hang in the sky like a bringer of the apocalypse. She raced out the side doors of the Library, ignoring the surprised shouts from the door guards and looked up at what she thought was a battleship. Shielding her eyes from the glare of the sunlight and the flash of the energy weapons, she swallowed hard as a realisation came to her: this was one of Xonix's attack ships. Weihan had constantly informed her that Xonix was an Overlord of a few dozen planetary systems and that would mean that he would, presumably, have a fleet. How big it was and how many ships it comprised of was of no matter to her but she was wishing she had asked the questions. Bree lifted her communicator to her mouth and began speaking as fast as she could.

"Callin' any Rangers in the Sydney area! It's a Code Black Emergency!"

As she spoke, she heard a soft whooshing sound from above her. Spying the tunnel where Weihan had emerged after his Zord battle a few weeks ago, she ran towards it as the ground behind her exploded in a geyser of grass, dirt and flame. Slamming her back into the stone and brick wall, she lifted her communicator and spoke the words that would shut the protests.

"Just look up."

TBC…

AN: Yup. Starting the next 'arc' soon…


	44. 43: The Sacred Powers

Chapter Forty Three: The Sacred Powers

"What is going on?"

The shouts were everywhere as dozens of people tried to wrap their minds around what they were seeing. Lasers rained from the sky in clusters of five small shots or a car-length beam from one of the cruisers, incinerating all in its path. As Bree leapt from the bonnet of a car seconds before it melted into molten metal, she shook her head as the first cheers reached her ears. It hadn't taken much for the other Ultra Rangers to respond to their calls as most of them had been close enough to a radio or something to listen to the breaking news. It was all well and good, but it seemed that whoever was firing the lasers had locked onto her as a friend of the Rangers. Essentially, it all boiled down to running the Hell away from the Library before one of the 'giant lasers of death' left her a pile of ash on the sidewalk.

After the big battleship had fired a warning shot at her – she hoped it was a warning shot – six smaller ships had materialised around the bigger ship. Several waves of small ships, similar to the ones she had seen earlier, flew out of the six ships and began blasting the people and buildings below. She had seen several people fried to a crisp as they stared at the attack from above. She had scrambled out of the tunnel moments before one of the 'scouts' had opened fire on it and was running towards one of the armoured monster shelters. It would be insane to try to teleport away from the battle as all it would take was one laser bolt to pass through her teleportation stream and…well, she wouldn't be feeling whole ever again. Diving to one side as one of the big 'smasher' beams slammed into the concrete, she looked up to see the blue and silver disc of the Astro Megaship engage one of the cruisers. The Astro Rangers had been called back from the farthest reaches of the Solar System for something wholly unrelated to the battle but had spared no hesitation to engage the fleet.

Where the Silver Ranger was, she had no clue. Thanks to the amount of blasts in the air, communications were sketchy at best but the last message Andros had managed to croak out was that Zhane was in the North Sydney area and his sense of duty would force him into the battle one way or another. Many of the Ultra Rangers were in the skies anyway, on their own strange versions of Galaxy Gliders, Jet Jammers or using the jets concealed in their Assault Armour for either limited flight or very high jumps. There were a few, though, who were on the streets and guiding the civilians who were relatively safe into shelters. The Green Ultra Ranger was near her, but Bree didn't stop for a quick chat as there was a shelter close by. Muttering curses under her breath, she rose to her feet and ran towards the college, hoping that everything was still all right. Skidding around a corner and narrowly avoiding and exploding car, she slid under a semi-trailer as the upper floors of the building above her exploded outward in a flare of fire and concrete. Her feet fell out from under her as she stared up at the chunks that were about to squash her into so much paste. The Ultra Rangers were fighting their own battles and the ones that were on the ground were too far away to help her.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl and she heard the voice of the Silver Astro Ranger from somewhere behind her, slightly muffled as if he was underwater. He wasn't going to make it in time and he knew it. She could see yellow streaks of energy blasting at the concrete chunks, disintegrating most of them but bouncing harmlessly off the largest block. As it fell towards her, she could see the ugly streak of red that was splashed across one side and she threw her arms up in front of her to provide some small amount of protection before the crunch. She saw all of the faces of her family, AJ, her friends, the Rangers…everyone she had known was flashing through her mind and she felt great sorrow that she would die in a rather impersonal battle against faceless creatures. Suddenly, she felt herself shake her head as something within her seemed to…unlock.

A warm tingle spread through her arms and hands as the concrete-and-brick wall exploded into small chunks of rock. Through the smoke and dust clouds, she could see two ethereal forms that seemed to be looking down at her. To her amazement, they looked to be the dinosaurs she had seen on the cover of the book. She shakily began to sit up when the Silver Astro Ranger popped up next to her; she let out a brief scream and fell back onto the ground. The Ranger shook his head and helped her back to her feet. Aiming his Silveriser into the air, he casually blasted three low-flying scouts away. As they crumpled in flashes of fire and light, she could hear him talk to himself.

"What was that just now? Why did one of the Sacred Powers answer her call?"

Bree shook her head in confusion as another volley of blasts flew overhead. She kept looking at her arms to see if anything had changed, even though she knew that there would be no physical changes. Yet, the fact remained that two…energy dinosaurs had come out from her hands to protect her from being crushed by a building chunk. It was something that both excited and terrified her and she hated to think what the reaction of her sister would be. Wrenching her thoughts away from the inevitable conversation with AJ, she refocused on the words Zhane had said.

"What? What Sacred Powers? What do you mean?"

From behind his helmet, Zhane looked down at the girl and sighed. It was obvious that she needed an explanation as to what had just happened, but he doubted he was the right person for it. Part of him would never forgive both Karone and the Orange Ranger for what they had done to him but he knew their deceit had been for the best. When the news of their affair had come to light, he had found himself wracked with conflicting emotions. There was the anger and the burning hatred, which was normal…but on the other hand, there was something almost akin to relief. Their relationship had been slowly breaking apart and, while he was working hard to fix that, he knew there was nothing that could be done to save it. Still, he harboured a lot of anger at Weihan for daring to be her first…which was really anger at himself for not noticing it.

"Look, this really isn't the time or place for lengthy explanations. I'll make it as quick as I can but you have to tell him when he returns."

He bit his tongue at how petty he sounded. One of these days, he really needed to make amends but the wound was still too raw. He supposed he would wait a while before broaching the subject…only after the world had been saved for the immediate future. Blasting another scout out of the sky, he looked down at the young girl and heaved an internal sigh. She would have to settle for what he knew before the full story was revealed.

"All right, the Sacred Power set are three Power Sources that were thought to be the strongest out of all the Powers. My Silver Ranger Powers can barely hold a candle to them and the only Powers stronger are the Ultra Crystals. Apparently, they were created during Project Ultra as a secondary Power source for the Orange Crystal in case there was ever a time in which the user couldn't draw on the full power of the Ultra Crystal but was scrapped to create…backup, I guess. No one really knows."

As he talked, he began edging her toward one of the 'safe havens' or a place where she could initiate a teleport to the cave of the Ultra Rangers…whatever it was called. However, the battleship and the cruisers would have to be dealt with first. He winced as one of the cluster blasts ricocheted off the Astro Megaship's shield and hoped his friends were all right. If things became too hairy, they had the backup of the Delta Megaship and the Voyager Machines. He supposed he would bring out the Mega Winger as well but only after the Ultra Rangers could call upon their Zords. As the Black/Green and Brown Ultra Rangers gave them cover fire, he could hear one of the cruisers start to buckle under the barrage from the Ultra Rangers in the air. He practically had to shout for the girl to hear him.

"Anyway, whatever the case, they were released into the time-stream or something like that after they were fully complete. For what reason they did that, I can only guess at. I've heard reports of one or two popping up over the centuries but nothing major. The reports were in Zordon's Archives so he should have a copy of them."

Well, at least the venom in his voice had dialled back a bit. However, it was around ten minutes into the battle and the Orange Ranger still hadn't shown up. Neither had the strange new Rangers that had been recruited for whatever purpose. He could hear the Black/Green Ranger talking to the Brown one over the blaster fire, but their conversation didn't really make sense to him. Dimensional barrier, urgent crisis, overwhelmed…the words were slightly disjointed and went over his head for the most part; he was sure the Orange Ranger would have a good excuse to his whereabouts. Ducking behind an overturned truck, he paused to catch his breath.

"Of course, there is a strange prophecy about them. Something along the lines of when the Three are brought together, they will set in motion the events to shape the future. Something like that but it's mostly thought of as being a load of Y'lchn dung."

Stopping at her confused look, he fought the urge to smack himself on the head. Of course she wouldn't know what he meant by that. His brain raced to find a suitable comparison as words spilled out of his mouth.

"Uh…similar to a cow. About five feet tall, quadruped with armoured backs and curved horns; native to Huran and bred by the farmers for…and I'm getting off track. Anyways, the point is that, while there is no truth to the words of the prophecy, the three Sacred Powers were given a special name by Zordon. Something about them fighting under a common banner or whatnot but he was very specific that they weren't to be called Power Rangers because the Sacred Powers weren't really designed to be the first line of defence. More like guarding civilians from what slipped past but the word Ranger could be used. The name that was given was…"

He trailed off, alerted to something on his HUD. Biting back a stinging curse, he aimed up and fired several blasts…just as a single scout flashed past with its, admittedly meagre, cargo hold open. Throwing his body over the unarmoured girl, he waited for the scraps of metal to stop raining down before looking up at the aerial battle's progress. Three of the remaining cruisers were in very bad shape and one of them looked almost as if it was ready to explode. Worryingly, the battleship still looked as pristine as ever and there was a thick trail of choking smoke coming from the tail section of the Astro Megaship. He could see the black and yellow form of the Delta Megaship cutting swathes through the scouts that were still being disgorged from the battleship and quickly punched a code in the Digimorpher to allow the Mega Winger to assist in the battle. He pointed ahead of them to an alley that was heavily shielded by buildings and the girl nodded once before running toward it. Belatedly realising that he hadn't given her the name, he raced towards her, said his final line and finished it with three words that would unknowingly change the course of Ranger History once more.

"The Ranger Sentinels."

TBC…


	45. 44: Planned Risk

Chapter Forty Four: Planned Risk

Who would be dumb enough to send their fleet to attack?

Alex clenched his teeth together and fired another icy blast at from his Blizzard Blaster a cluster of scouts. The small formation instantly froze, encased in a thick coating of ice and plummeted to the ground. The fuel for the jets in his Assault Armour had been depleted, which meant he wasn't going to be soaring up into the skies anytime soon. He could still achieve some height with the Hellfire Armour enhancing his jumps, but he would be at a disadvantage on the way down. Out of the corner of his eye, he could still see the smoking wreck of the Astro Megaship perched precariously on the roof of one of the office buildings and shuddered lightly. The Astro Rangers had taken a few too many hits and had only managed to retain some degree of control to avoid smashing through said building, pulling up at the last possible second. That had been around forty five minutes ago and the battle was slowly tipping in the Rangers' favour.

Three out of the six cruisers were destroyed, the flaming wreckage lining streets as far away as Manly and Bondi. One of the remaining cruisers looked like it would explode at any second and the others were getting their fair share of damage. The waves of scout ships had somewhat diminished, but what they lacked in quantity was backed up by stronger weapons. Flipping back from a greenish blue laser, Alex grumbled under his breath once more as one of the 'new' scouts flew overhead. It looked the same as the 'old' ones, claw shaped with thin sheets of armour wrapping around the body and top, yet this type stripped out the wings and attached laser cannons for a permanently downward pointing energy weapon and independently moving jets for the finer controls. The scouts still made a satisfying explosion when they blew up, but the energy weapon packed more of a punch than the lasers had. Eliza was still out of the battle until her armour repaired itself on the right side of her body. Since her glancing hit, the remaining Rangers were prioritising the destruction of the scouts.

"Any word from the boss?"

Glancing over to his right, he saw Rebecca firing the Spike Cannon into a tightly clustered group of three scouts. The Brown Ranger had been the second Ranger on the scene as she was taking an unscheduled day off Uni to see Sam. Their relationship had deepened slightly but, at the same time, they were slowly growing apart as he became slightly disillusioned with the destruction he had been witness to. It didn't help that she had to cut their date short to deal with the ships in the sky or find a safe place to morph. However, even if they did break up, he had sworn on the Power not to reveal any of their secrets or identities…which was something she found little comfort in. Shaking her head as five more scouts screamed overhead, she pushed those thoughts out of her mind and promised herself that she would cross those bridges when she came to them. Not less than a second after the thought had left her mind did another one push its way to the forefront of her brain. It was of Weihan, griping about how often he used the phrase 'crossing a bridge when he came to it' and wondering if that was a phrase that came stock with all Ranger Powers.

"Not yet. Either he's still in battle or he doesn't know we're up to our necks in shit."

Alex nodded to her and looked up just in time to catch the heavily-damaged cruiser explode from the impact of the Delta Megaship's Gyro-Blasters. The secondary Megaship of the Astro Rangers had a few new dings and scratches on the protective paint but there were no gouts of smoke billowing from the hatches…yet. He winced under his helmet and hoped he hadn't jinxed the rest of the battle; even with the help from the Mega Winger and three of the Voyager Machines; it would take more than a miracle to break through the shields of the battleship. In theory, the Dino Ultramax could knock through the shields, but that option was out of the question as Weihan wasn't on the same Dimensional Plane anymore. They had been informed of the 'crossing' by Bree, who was tucked away in the Ultra Cavern, and they had the saved log of Princess Luna's call played back to them. Knowing him, it had been pretty much second nature for the split-second decision to take the Crystal Rangers through and into Equestria. He supposed he would have done the same thing.

"Eh, he'll find out later. Any idea how we can take out the big one?"

Rebecca shook her head and bit her bottom lip. The cruiser ships could be easily taken out by the Astro Rangers with help from Adam and Rocky, who had arrived around fifteen minutes earlier. The two Zeo Rangers had quietly informed them that there had been a bit of an 'accident' on a remote island where Tommy had been working with Anton Mercer and the two of them were missing. Alex had genuinely felt bad about asking Bree to send the call out to the other Rangers, but Rocky had waved off the concern. The others were looking for them and more than likely wouldn't need any of the Zords. That had been their final words before summoning their Ultra Zeo Zords and lunging at the enemies in front of them. Pausing to fire at a few more scouts, her mind raced as she thought.

"We need something strong to punch through the shields. Maybe try to combine the Zords that don't need Wei to be present. Maybe the Full Alpha Bipedal can work or we can try an energy strike with the Core Three Zords."

Alex shook his head, keeping an eye on the energy meter on his HUD. Every precious second not spent firing the Blizzard Blaster at the scouts was another drop of energy that was replenished. If he wanted to be brutally honest with himself, he would have said that firing at the scouts was an exercise in extreme futility. The cruisers and the battleship were continually churning them out and their on-the-fly refit of their capabilities meant that there was a small factory that was continually churning out scouts in an attempt to wear down the defenders. Tearing his eyes away from the battle above, he looked around him at the buildings that were still standing. Several had large cracks running down their sides and they, in all honesty, looked like a stiff breeze would knock them over. He didn't think a massively large machine like the Full Biped would be kind to them with its footsteps. Selecting the Battle Menu, his eyes flicked over the list of options and suit functions, silently marvelling at the sheer scope of them, before selecting the one that seemed to match his needs.

Looking up at the battleship, he used the Energy Scanner to gauge the strength of the shield. The results did not surprise him one bit. During the two year break in Rangering, he had taken a week or so off to study all the different combinations of the Zords and had stumbled upon specifications for something called a Centaurus Shield Generator. He could recall the exact strength of any shield that was generated by it…and the numbers on the output of the Full Biped weren't going to cut it. On the other hand, the Core Three Zord plan would work as they would be drawing directly from the Ultra Grid…

"Full Biped won't work as the energy output can't even scratch the surface of punching through the shield. Core Three Attack may work…it's risky but it might hold the edge we need. We'll need a plan of attack though. I don't know how big the explosion will be and I doubt anyone will like it if we flattened North Sydney just to nuke the battleship."

He could just imagine the political repercussions of such an act and, despite the sombreness inside his mind, had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. Frank Sartor would have a shit fit and John Howard would probably put all of them on the 'Must Kill' list that every politician seemed to have. Forcing his mind away from the hilarious aftermath of that attack, he calculated the amount of energy and force required to punch through the shield and, if possible, force the battleship out of the atmosphere. He doubted anyone in the world wanted the oxygen in the sky to burn up and he didn't feel like defending a dead planet for the rest of his life either. From the reports coming over his headset, he knew that most of the news crews were keeping a safe distance away from the battle since a wayward laser had clipped the helicopter of Channel 10. The occupants had survived, of course, but the footage of the attack and subsequent rescue would make for thrilling TV.

"If we synchronise all of our blasts, we may be able to push it out of the atmosphere and allow it to explode in space. The risk being that the Dinozords, Thunderzords and Ninjazords will be out of commission for a while as I'm not sure how quickly the ZARS will be able to repair any systems that give out during the weapon firing."

At the nod of the Brown Ranger, he brought up a map of the area on his HUD and planned the attack. A head-on barrage would be too dangerous as was one from behind. The Zords needed to be grouped in an area in the battleship's one blind firing spot – directly below. Thanks to some rather lucky energy refraction techniques, they had managed to destroy several of the underside turrets and had damaged one of the shield emitters. Sucking on his teeth, Alex inhaled slowly and processed the numbers that were rapidly scrolling on his visor. The pangs of self-doubt began to creep up on him and he hissed under his breath as he tried to push them away.

"The tremors from firing shouldn't exceed more than a 3.5 earthquake, if that. Keep the battleship busy with the Delta Megaship, the Zeo Zords and whatever else we can rig onto remote and…"

His voice trailed off for a moment and he struggled to find his place again. Rebecca shot him a look.

"What?"

He sighed and looked up as the fifth cruiser buckled as internal explosions ripped it apart. Cleanup of the metal fragments was going to be a pain in the ass and a half, but it would be worth it to ensure that no civilians died after the battle. At a flash of movement in the corner of his eye, he turned to see a thin man with balding hair run down a side alley. He was tempted to give chase, when he saw two people were already chasing him. From their build and the scant descriptions Weihan had given them, he knew that the two detectives investigating the murders were chasing the strange guy. Putting those thoughts out of his mind, he returned to his self doubt and sighed.

"I don't know if this is the right decision. I wonder what he would do if he were here and not on the other side…"

Rebecca placed a supportive hand on his shoulder, under the armour plating, and squeezed once. She hated to forcefully put a friend back onto the right track, but if she let himself wallow in self-pity, millions of people would more than likely die. Her voice held an undercurrent of sympathy and steel.

"We can't let that thing blast any longer and this is the only plan we have."

Alex nodded once and she released his shoulder. He shook himself once before relaying the plan to the other Rangers. As their shocked responses began to flood in, he lifted his left hand to the sky and prepared to call on his Zords. It was a shame, really, that the news crews would be too far away to see the action and the spectacle.

"We need to act."

TBC…


	46. 45: Public Viewpoint II

Chapter Forty Five: Public Viewpoint II

"Chaos in North Sydney as the Ultra Rangers reappear!"

The news reader looked at the camera with a slightly forced grin as the teleprompter began scrolling once more. Sneaking a glance at the monitor that showed what he looked like, he suppressed a wince at the rather large bandage wrapped around the top of his head. Perhaps he should have listened to his manager and taken the afternoon off but he literally couldn't stay still. Not after witnessing the spectacle of light and colour that had heralded the end of the monstrous metal…thing that had appeared out of nowhere. As the prompter continued to move up, he opened his mouth once more to speak.

"Panic gripped North Sydney today as seven large alien crafts appeared from the sky and began blasting the buildings below at approximately ten thirty this morning. We now believe they were sent by the absent alien leader Xonix, whose disappearance was revealed during an attack earlier this year. After around five minutes of blasting, the Ultra Rangers, minus the Orange Ranger who was revealed to have been on an 'important mission', appeared and began defending the civilians still caught in the open. Our reporter, Jenny Lewis, was on the scene. Jenny, are you there?"

The image changed to a young woman with shoulder length light brown hair. Her voice held a slight British accent and she was holding tightly to a clipboard. Behind her were various emergency workers, council members and builders struggling to work in the dying light of the afternoon. She nodded once and, for a brief moment, thought about her family back in London and if they were all right. She had been hearing rumours that strange things had been happening and she wanted to complete her assignment to Channel 10 as quickly as she could. Of course, there was no real chance of her seeing one of the 'strange things' up close…but a girl could dream. He next assignment was at a Public Relations firm and she was looking forward to that as she hated being in front of a camera. Glancing down at the notes in front of her, she nodded once and began speaking.

"Yes, David, I was in the area and could see the action unfold from a monster shelter on the roof of a nearby building. The Black/Green and Silver Ultra Rangers were amongst the first Rangers on the scene and they immediately engaged the ships flying overhead. What made this battle unlike many of the previous ones was the sudden and unexpected arrival of all six Astro Rangers. As you will recall earlier in the year, the spokesperson for the Rangers – TJ Johnston – stated that the Silver Astro Ranger was taking a break from the team for unspecified reasons. There have been sporadic sightings of him chasing someone down the street in recent days, but these sightings have been dismissed as hoaxes."

The image cut to a rather hastily edited 'report' that covered the basic details. The images of the seven ships dropping their cloaks was slightly jerky and looked like it had been recorded with a very low-quality recording device. Tinny sounds of explosions could be heard as the first of the scout ship waves descended from the sky. The image cut away to another image of civilians running away from the blasts and censoring what deaths were captured with thick, black bars. Somehow, this made the deaths all the more chilling. The image swung upward as a low roar was heard, just in time to see the familiar blue, white and red form of the Astro Megaship fly past. In the studio, David grimaced slightly as the post-battle report by the Astro Rangers had said that it wasn't safe to fly as it was and would be taken back to NASADA for research into yet another viable way for faster-than-light transport to occur.

"Controlled destruction was how one civilian reported the attack as being. Although only lasting around an hour in length, the battle was no less fierce on both sides as the Rangers took to the skies in an effort to bring down the smaller ships."

The image changed once more to a steadier image looking out the window of a heavily armoured door. The Red, White and Green Ultra Rangers could be seen leaping from roof to roof in their Assault Armours and firing up into the sky with their blasters and in-built weaponry. The sounds were muffled somewhat from behind the door, but shouts could be heard. Watching her recorded images from earlier, Jenny silently wondered if anyone would ever know who the ones behind the helmets were and what, if anything, would be done with the information. A small voice in her ear informed her that she needed to resume speaking to set up the next images and the…strange sights that had been seen.

"Around ten minutes into the battle, those still present on the streets of North Sydney were treated to a strange sight. As you can see, part of a falling building was destroyed by what can only be described as two energy dinosaurs that came from an unknown source. A few people said that they saw a young girl manifest the creatures, but this has not yet been verified as no one knows where the girl went. It has been rumoured that she is in the protection of the Rangers, although this rumour has also not been verified."

The image changed to the scene being described, this time shot by what was obviously a Japanese tourist. He or she was standing with his or her back against a recently closed door of a monster shelter, as evidenced by the way the camera seemed to keep swinging to the window above the cast-iron 'handle'. The armoured glass showed the concerned and frightened faces of various people that were assumed to be the tourist's family. Muffled shouts were heard through the door as the tourist mumbled something before crying out in alarm as a nearby office building started to break apart and crumble. A shaky hand forced the image to stay as still as possible as a scream split through the air. A gasp was followed by a bright flash of light as the after-image of two reptilian creatures faded away from the motes of dust the slabs of concrete, metal and brick had become. The image changed to David abruptly, cutting off Jenny as she began the next phase of the report. He blinked once, startled by the transition but relaxed slightly as the teleprompter whirred to life once more.

"Apologies for cutting you off, Jenny. We have received new footage from one of our traffic helicopters that was in the area. A warning to some viewers, they may feel nauseous at the images."

The image cut to a shaky camera pointed straight ahead at the battle going on in the distance. The Astro Megaship could still be seen flying around, joined by the silver and white form of the Mega Winger. Suddenly, three blasts smashed against the side of the Astro Megaship and blasted out the other end within seconds. The ship began to fall towards a building but pulled up at the last possible second to comically hang over the edge drunkenly. Massive explosions rocked the city and the muted gasps of horror from the pilot could be heard. At the edge of the screen, a strange, two-toned beam could be seen weaving past the lasers. Whatever it was, it made it away from the carnage in under five seconds and rocketed off to the far west.

The image crept closer, almost as if the pilot was nudging the chopper to see how close they could get before being noticed. However, it was already too late. A green energy bolt whizzed past, clipping the camera and causing the image to break out into snow for a few seconds before correcting itself. Yet it was too late and the POV skewed wildly, only catching glimpses of the battle as the panicked yells of the pilot and the news reporter mixed into each other. There was a flash from the battle and the camera jerked hard to the right as large, robotic fingers were seen at the edges of the screen. The image jerked lazily for a few more moments, keeping its 'gaze' fixed firmly at the battle before jerking upwards as an undamaged roof swung up from below. The camera kept recording as the whine of the engine died down and captured one of the Ultra Dino Megazords separating into the component Dinozords as they assembled under the behemoth ship.

"Moments later, a combined energy attack from thirty three individual Zords, the Mega Winger and the Delta Megazord managed to penetrate the shield surrounding the large ship and fling it into space where it detonated soon after. Police have now confirmed that they received hundreds of calls during this period as people not watching or listening to the battle became alarmed at the light and sound. Those within a seventy kilometre radius also felt light ground tremors, although no damage was sustained during the duration. Police are praising the efforts of Detectives Ben Kings and Jessica Vojnovic for coming to the aid of several people who were trapped out in the open."

David shuffled the papers in front of him as his shifting in his chair brushed against a tender bruise on his back. The landing on the building had been rougher than the images had made it out to be. The laser bolt had practically melted half the tail off and had packed enough heat to slightly melt the sunglasses in his pocket. Sneaking a glance at the lump in his shirt, he made a slight face upon thinking of what he would have to clean up. Smiling as he neared the end of the report, he looked up at the prompter and gave a slight nod of his head.

"The Ultra Rangers released a short statement earlier. They informed everyone that the attack was Xonix's fleet and they would be helping with the rebuilding and recovery efforts. The Black Ultra Ranger also stated that while the Orange Ranger was not present, he had been notified and approved of the slightly extreme tactic used to destroy the larger ship."

Story finished, he turned the sheet of paper over and prepared to read the next story, thankful that Jenny was nowhere near the studio.

"New creatures sighted in London have citizens running and what is the official word on the mysterious ARC group?"

He paused to give the camera his best, and slightly forced, smile.

"Stay tuned."

TBC…


	47. 46: Evil Tremor

AN: And Powers Unleashed is back with a written Prophecy that sounds better than the earlier ones.

Chapter Forty Six: Evil Tremor

Earth was a cursed planet.

Jabarkas stood on the rocky surface of the moon and looked at the metallic debris that were clumped over one island. If he hadn't seen the explosion with his own eyes, he would have thought he was dreaming. He had sent out warnings to the other monsters that were coming to stay away until he could better judge the strength of the opposition. So far, all but twelve had agreed to the delay. Out of the remaining twelve, nine had mysteriously found 'other lines of work' when they viewed the images recorded a few hours ago. That just left three monsters that were undeterred by the destruction and relished in the untold promise of glory when they destroyed the Ultra Rangers. He supposed he couldn't fault them as he had once felt the same way…once. He shook his head as the old memories threatened to swim up from his mind of the victories with his Ranger Team on Huran. He had made a promise to never again set foot on the planet as he was not sure how the emotions would take hold. For all he knew, he would fall into a berserk rage and slaughter half the population.

Yet, there was one thing he knew of as fact: the attacks on the planet had changed the twins irrevocably. Exposure to the various rays, radiations and beams over their battles had slowed their normal aging to a literal crawl. As Hurans normally aged at an exceedingly slow rate anyway, this meant the two sisters were amongst some of the oldest inhabitants on the surface. Although he wouldn't ever set foot on the planet, he had others to set foot on it for him…contacts that his Master didn't even know about. Muiesaf's injuries had been too much for her to bear and she had been placed inside a Healing Tank in the ruins of what was the Central Core. Over time, the Healing Tank's systems began to malfunction and break down, forcing various engineers and scientists to literally plug the ex-Ranger into the rebuilt Central Core for her to survive. The former Green Ranger had taken to the change reasonably well and had seen to the creation of a new Ranger team, albeit one without a Red Ranger. There were internal stirrings of rebellion, but he wasn't going to go to the planet himself.

"When is the first one scheduled to come?"

He glanced behind him to see the robotic form of Yit. The Sha'Kahr warrior had taken on the duties of acclimatising whatever monsters Jabarkas had found in the Universe and briefing them on the possible dangers the Rangers were. Of course, due to several unforseen issues, he would be starting his duties whenever the next creature arrived from deep space. His internal receptors had been pinging on and off for the past few hours since the explosion. It was almost as if a few members of his species were attempting to establish contact…but with the Drone Queens still wandering the stars for the billionth time, that didn't seem possible. Plus, he had long abandoned his species' nomadic barbarian ways in favour of a grounded and practical approach. Besides, the only real reason they would be contacting the 'stragglers' was to inform them that they were making their final loop around the Universe before resettling back into the system they had left eons ago.

"In around three days. Mutator will lay low for a while before striking at the unusual one."

Yit nodded and stroked the bottom of his mask in deep thought. Like Jabarkas had done, he had reviewed the battle footage from the cameras on the battleship and had seen the young one fire out the energy lizards from her hands. Based on the data that had been gathered from her, he would have laid good odds that she had no magical potential in her at all. Despite the six billion odd humans on the surface, only a miniscule fraction of them held any real potential for magic but they were scattered on the various landmasses. He brought up the images on his rudimentary HUD and scanned through them again. There was something about the energy lizards that struck a strange and resonant chord within his being but he didn't know if the warrior in front of him remembered his part in the whole affair. Giving a mental shrug, he decided to go ahead and say what was on his mind.

"Unusual one is right…could she be one of the ones mentioned in the Prophecy?"

Jabarkas made a face as the light from the sun flashed off one of the larger fragments. The Prophecy of the Sentinels was one of those events that had an extremely low percentage of coming true. Not even if every single being sunk to the depths of despair at once would it be activated. He tapped his chin with his left hand and seriously thought about the cursed nature of the Earth. There was once a time which he had thought the Prophecy of the Crystals would never be completed…well, not within his lifetime anyway. Yet, the scars over his body were a testament to how wrong he was in that respect. He snorted once and spoke in a low and dangerous voice.

"What? Why bring that ancient piece of junk up now? Seriously, I haven't even begun to forgive them for that idiotic ritual…"

His mind zoomed back to the past and the strange and baffling ritual that he had undergone. It was supposedly one of the last formal steps that needed to take place before Xonix gained full and complete control of one of the so-called 'Destiny Planets' in the Universe. His Master wasn't about to perform that himself and Twinlobe, Yit and Psychogre had coughed up rather lame excuses…leaving him to take the fall. At the start, it hadn't been that bad. Free alcohol was always a good thing and the varied tastes, while somewhat stomach-churning, were rather unique. And then, right when he had been on the cusp of total drunkenness coupled with the inability to speak or enunciate words properly, a jumble of words had fallen from his lips. He would later swear on Muiesaf's Hub that he hadn't even known that the free drinks were specially brewed Prophecy Potions or the mattress he had been sitting on was specially woven from the fibres of some plant he couldn't recall the name of, but was integral in the Prophecy Process.

It would have all seemed like a bad hallucination…had the words not been recorded and placed on the Intergalactic Information Network to be seen by any and all inhabitants. Luckily, the footage of what he had done to the priests and priestesses wasn't uploaded and he was sure that the slaves would still be trying to scrub the blood out of every single crack in the Temple. No matter how hard he tried to scrub the events of that strange and twisted few hours from his mind…the words were immortal.

_In times of need, they will gather_  
_Three powers sealed in Human vessels_  
_One Dragon, two Reptiles and one vehicle_  
_Protecting the weak of the world ravaged by battle_  
_When they are joined with the Great Crystal they will be complete_  
_And the future will be forever changed_

"You're the one who stated it, drugs or no. I thought all the major prophecies had been completed with the Ultra Rangers."

Jabarkas nodded and looked at the planet once more. Judging on what the scanners were telling him, the strange anomalies in a place called London were popping up with alarming regularity over the past few days. Possibly it could be due to the slight shifting of the magnetic poles since the battle two years ago but he doubted anyone would really get a straight and honest answer…no matter how much of their currency was thrown at the problem. There was a nagging feeling that an evil from the future would come though and usurp them all, but he didn't put much stock into that as a Ranger team would inevitably pop up just as it had done with the Ninja Storm Rangers.

"So did I. I swear, the planet below is cursed."

Yit snorted back a chuckle. A slightly melancholy note pierced through his body and he returned his gaze up at the inky void above them. There was no sense in looking down on the Earth as nothing was likely to change in the immediate future. His brethren were on the move and were calling for him to join them…which was nothing new. That they would be resettling in the system they had left so long ago was nothing new either. With the advent of human Interstellar travel, he was more than positive a group of humans would colonise the planets and spread their junk around the surfaces of the worlds. And if they didn't…well, the myth of Drakor would keep them away for sure.

"Not much we can do about it now. I have a strange feeling this war will never end."

Jabarkas shot him a sharp look and pursed his lips.

"Don't say that. It will end…one way or another."

Yit nodded absently and kicked the dust at his feet. They were prepared for anything to happen within the next few cycles, be it a massive Ranger attack, a harebrained scheme to open the gates of Hell or for the second coming of Zordon. Perhaps the last one was a bit of a stretch but they were ready to face a being with the magical strength of the deceased sage. There were still monsters on the surface of the planet that had been placed years ago by Zedd, King Mondo and even Dark Spectre but when they would break free of their time-delay was anyone's guess. Xonix had several more creatures of his making down there and one that would play on the weakness inherent in the White Ranger. He hoped he was still around to see the results of that monster and see the Ranger slowly self-destruct under the constant pressures and stresses. Seeing that Jabarkas was still looking at him like he was a decomposing R'Kal, he spoke.

"Which way do you want it to end?"

The Huran blinked at the question and thought it over thoroughly. On one hand, he wanted to win; to parade the still and unmoving form of the Orange Ranger through the streets of the city and shatter the willpower of the populace. To find the hidden location of the Rangers' base and crush them slowly and over a period of days…or until one or more of them agreed to serve him. The people would be no more than livestock, grown for food to feed their massive army and slave labour to build their massive battleships. Xonix would be the ruler of the world and Earth would be the Crown Jewel in his Empire…it would all be a hearty reward after so many failed plans and destroyed monsters. They had the resources to pull off such a feat, even if the Rangers tried their trick on the first wave there was no way their energy stores would be able to keep up with the quantity. They would be overwhelmed within minutes – if not hours. The battle would be over quickly and they would be able to rest a while before moving on to the next conquest. However, that next conquest would more than likely be over too soon for anyone to seriously get into the 'spirit'. Their reputations as the villains that conquered the Ultra Rangers would more than likely play a factor in the brevity of the campaigns.

Yet if the Rangers somehow managed to win over the bulk of the fleet, whether through solid tactics or through some other weapon that was deployed at the last possible second, they would be at a major disadvantage. Their fleet, built and pieced together over the span of a few thousand years, would be nothing more than a lot of scrap metal – meaning their offensive and threatening strength would be 'down the shitter' as the humans liked to say. The battles would be more and more challenging as they struggled to adapt to both the Rangers' new weapons and whatever rebellions erupted within their Empire…but it would be thrilling and exhilarating. It would also hearken back to the early days of Xonix's conquest where they had to ensure that every last iota of resistance and free will was stamped out of the planets they were conquering. More battles meant a longer campaign time…which meant more time for him to hone his skills and have 'fun', something that wouldn't happen with Earth under their heel. He tore his gaze away from the Earth and looked up at the stars. When one choice was so much more appealing than the other, but meant the difference between victory and defeat…how could he give a straight answer?

"I don't know."

TBC…


	48. 47: Unarmed

Chapter Forty Seven: Unarmed

Things had calmed somewhat.

North Sydney was still a wreck and there were chunks of metal all over the place, but the area was still accessible on foot and with extremely limited bus services. Miller Street was completely destroyed and the silhouette of the downed Astro Megaship was still hanging on one of the office buildings; Andros having decreed that it would stay there until the Zords were in better condition so it could be lifted up without total destruction of the building and street. Bree walked down the sidewalk, avoiding the sparks that came from barely-functioning scout ships and the oil-based fires that had yet to be extinguished. Strangely, those fires didn't billow out any form of smoke nor did they have any heat emitted from them. The PM had already dispatched several scientific experts to the scene to see if they could somehow replicate the properties in the oil. They only had to wait for it to stop burning and everything would be fine…something that didn't sit right with her at all. Ignoring it, she walked towards the college as her mind turned to much heavier and darker thoughts.

She would have to tell AJ eventually. If Zhane was correct in saying that she was one of the bearers of this 'Sacred Power', she doubted she could keep it a secret for long. Finding out your little sister was a Ranger, or a Ranger Sentinel, after a brutal attack was not the best way to keep their relationship close. Different variations of what she would tell her kept running through her mind and the range of emotions her imagined conversations provoked was both intriguing and would be possibly uncannily accurate. The most difficult thing to deal with would be AJ's sense of guilt as she would have cursed their mother for sending her into the heart of Ranger country. On the other hand, the other destinations at hand were either Blue Bay Harbour or Reefside. Blue Bay Harbour had Rangers of their own and, while it didn't have any Rangers of its own yet, Reefside was home to the vanished Anton Mercer. According to the latest news from Adam and Rocky, it seemed Tommy was looking to set up shop there and terrorise the local kids with his abysmal teaching skills. Knowing Tommy, it would all end with either the creation of a new Ranger team or him stumbling across a strange portal that would fling him years into the future where he would be hailed as the Greatest Ranger of all Time. Maybe the last option was a bit too much of an ego-trip, but she could see it happening to him…even if he had Kim by his side.

Chuckling under her breath at the image that provided, she slowed her pace as three figures loomed in front of her. She slid her left hand into her front pocket to grasp the palm-sized blaster that had been given to her by Andros, her mind raced as she looked for possible avenues of escape. As she came closer, she could easily recognise the slim form of Olivia Vojnovic with the two detectives that had questioned her about…something or other. Releasing the blaster and allowing it to slide back to the bottom of her pocket, she walked up to them just as Olivia's sister finished saying something about 'mutating strands', whatever that was supposed to mean.

"Bree! Are you all right?"

She nodded at the words and stopped next to her. The Australian-Italian woman seemed to be slightly frazzled and there were slight bags under her eyes, like she hadn't gotten enough sleep the night before. Bree had absolutely no idea why that was the case, but she was sure it would come back to bite all of them on the ass in the future. Opening her mouth to speak, she looked up at the teacher's face and mentally swore as she saw a flash of…something overlay itself over Olivia's face. If she didn't know any better, she would have said it was a Ranger helmet that mixed several aspects of the Morphin and Turbo Powers. From what she could see, it was mostly coloured red with the top 'windows' being the traditional black or an extremely dark shade of purple. Internally groaning, she wondered if Weihan ever had to deal with random images flashing up on people's heads.

"Olivia, yeah Ah'm fine. Oh, Detectives…is everythin' all right?"

Jessica nodded and stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jacket. Involving her sister in the case had been a messy affair and something that hadn't gone over well with their supervisors, but they had made leaps and bounds in their investigation since Frank Westron hadn't told them anything new. Zeta Labs had to be involved with the killings, but that didn't make an iota of sense; for one thing, the early victims had been unconnected to the company. Shaking her head slightly, she resolved to look deeper into the backgrounds of the first few people to see if they had any links, no matter how small or insignificant, to the conglomerate. Being in North Sydney yesterday had been a fluke as the plans of the Council had led them to Miller's apartment. Seeing how well that had turned out…she didn't want to dwell on that any more.

"Everything's fine. We've just got a few things we need to look through and then we have an afternoon with the top brass and the joy of meetings. Lots and lots of meetings."

Ben chuckled under his breath at the thread of sarcasm in his partner's voice. He supposed he had to share some of the burden as it was his actions that had gotten both their faces splashed across the airwaves and Hiroto Nowa becoming increasingly pissed off at them. He sometimes got the feeling his old friend was trying to knock some sense into him, but he should have known that wasn't going to work. Lord knows the amount of trouble they had gotten in back in the day…but he was getting off track yet again. Smiling at the redhead, he felt a small stab of envy for the young girl. Olivia, he knew, had her hands full with helping her sister on some of the riskier research into Zeta Labs while trying to cope with the death of her boyfriend. The fact that he was an abusive SOB helped lessen the mourning period slightly but if what Jess was saying was true…he hoped she would keep her head on straight.

"Yeah, yeah; I envy you two. You don't have to make the hard decisions about things but that's neither here nor there. I think we're done here, Jess. See you two around."

Bree allowed a short snort of laughter as the two detectives made their way to a small car that was parked nearby. A small part of her wished she could be in their shoes, working normal hours and having a normal job; something that was away from the chaos and maddening insanity that had become her life since the beginning of the year. Of course, she wouldn't give anything up for the world, but it was nice to dream once in a while. Waiting until the two had gotten inside the car, they began walking towards the college once more. Now that the slightly older woman was nearer to her, she could 'sense' the finer details of the helmet and the shoulders of the armour. Much like the armour of the Crystal Rangers, she could see the top of an armoured vest of sorts. The colouration of the uniform looked to be solid red with patches of purple and grey with gold piping around the neck. Seeking to distance her mind from the images she was 'seeing', she turned around to ask Olivia a question.

"What was all that about?"

The other woman shook her head in dismissal and Bree groaned under her breath. If what she was sensing was true, that Olivia was a part of her team, there would have to be no secrets for the initial period. Of course, she had to think about how the team would work as she didn't think they would see much of each other after the year was out. A trio of wandering heroes was the better option, though that would also have its drawbacks…plus they would be mistaken for lesbian lovers nearly everywhere they went. She had wondered why that hadn't been the case when the media had seen the obvious feminine armour of most of the Ultra Rangers and the Crystal Rangers but, on the other hand, she hadn't gone into the 'deeper and darker' parts of the internet like Justin had. The things he had found there, especially revolving around the Astro Rangers, had made them swear off that part of the 'net. Of course, Andros hadn't gotten much of it until Ashley had explained it to him.

"Nothing you should worry about. Where are the others?"

Her mind raced as she tried to come up with a plausible excuse. She hoped Weihan and the others had at least managed to duplicate themselves before leaving through the Doorway.

"Uh…they should meet us there. With all the detours in place, Ah guess they'd be shuffled all over the place."

The other woman nodded and Bree found herself floundering. All she had to go on was a vague jumble of words Zhane had told her, the ability to flash energy dinosaurs from the palms of her hands and a semi-realistic helmet of a Potential next to her. Plus there was the fact that she didn't know what her Morpher looked like as the book hadn't really given any specifics other then add more to the cryptic atmosphere and her own sense of foreboding. Hell, without a Morpher or a means to easily tap the power within her, she didn't know what she could do to help if a monster was sent down. Opening her mouth to ask a question, she snapped it shut as an insanely-high pitched laugh split the air.

"What do we have here? Two vulnerable allies of the Rangers with no protection make for easy pickings."

She hated being right sometimes.

TBC…


	49. 48: Fatal Mistake

Chapter Forty Eight: Fatal Mistake

It was uglier than anything she had seen before.

Covered in tiny spines that seemed to be moving independently of each other, the monster seemed to ooze its way towards them. The sun gleamed over its green, grey and brown skin and the edges of its mouth seemed to stretch out past the vaguely defined borders of its face, revealing small teeth that glinted dangerously in the sun like diamond daggers. Much to Bree's disgust, there wasn't a shred of clothing on the monster – not even a belt or a fingerless glove. That being said, if there was clothing, it wouldn't have helped as its skin was constantly moving. The effect was akin to having waves lapping just under its skin and made her nauseous just looking at it. Its arms hung loosely at its sides, in contrast with the threatening and aggressive stances the other monsters usually had…yet, its right hand looked different. It twisted and churned, bubbled and rolled like it was made of nothing but sea foam but it also shimmered and shined as if there were a million diamonds studded on its surface. The single eye in the middle of its head radiated intelligence and there were no illusions to what it would do if it captured them.

"What are you going to do? No Rangers can protect you from me and your police are too pathetic to be of danger."

Bree's left hand slid into her pocket and grabbed the small blaster. Keeping her eyes on the monster, she withdrew it in one fluid motion and snapped off several shots. As the energy blasts streaked towards the creature, the young girl grabbed Olivia's hand and began running in the opposite direction. Shouts and screams filled the air as, for the second time in as many days, panicked civilians scrambled for the nearest Monster Shelter. Stopping only to shoot off a handful more blasts, the would-be Ranger checked the power gauge and swore under her breath. Belatedly, she remembered Andros saying that there was only enough in the battery for a handful of shots and the thin red line she could see didn't bode well for the future.

Still dragging the shocked and stunned teacher behind her, they ducked behind a pile of rubble and Bree deactivated the blaster. Slipping it back in her pocket, she hoped it wouldn't burn through her pants and leave a few marks that would be nigh-impossible to explain to her guardians. Of course, she could shift it on the Power Rangers but she didn't want to give them more trouble – no matter how minor it would be. Lifting her wrist to activate her communicator, she swore in disgust as she stared at the bare patch where it should have been. Blaming herself for forgetting to put it on, she turned to Olivia and spoke as loudly as she dared.

"Are you all right?"

The Italian woman shook her head violently and Bree could see that she was quickly slipping into shock. That was both a blessing and a curse as it meant she was limited in her decisions. Stashing the teacher away was certainly an option she was comfortable with but all it would take was a stray laser blast and there'd be a mass of explaining to do. She peeked over the rubble to see what the creature was up to as Olivia's voice reached her ears.

"What was that? Why did that monster call us allies of the Rangers?"

Glancing down at her, Bree did a double take as she realised the woman wasn't in shock at all from the unexpected turn of events. Instead, she saw a gleam of anticipation as the young woman's mind started to click over the words and their possible meanings. Spying the creature walking over to a pile of iron bars that had been stacked neatly to one side, she shook her head as it lifted its right arm up. Forcing herself to stay as calm as possible, she stared as the flesh on its hand bubbled violently for a split second and, as the bubbles popped on the surface like bloody mud, extended the flesh on its hand to cover the entire pile of iron. A stifled gasp escaped her lips as the spines on the creature seemed to twist in ecstasy as a strange metallic creaking filled the air. Feeling, not seeing, Olivia pop up next to her, she watched in fascination as thin sheets of iron armour formed over the shoulders and chest of the creature; thankfully hiding its warping skin from her view. Experimentally flexing its left hand, Bree's eyes widened in shock as a long, serrated blade slid out of the skin just above the wrist. Everything hit her like a ton of bricks and she felt the ice-cold sensation of fear flood her veins.

The creature could absorb anything it touched.

Not only that, it could use the materials to augment various parts of itself. The iron rods had provided enough material for armour and a blade, so what had her blasts given it? Ducking back down and pulling Olivia with her, she began to think about what she could use to ensure the creature was destroyed. Knowing Jabarkas or the other aliens orbiting Earth, they would have sent down masses of grunts to another location to distract the Rangers. Maybe they would have sent more than one group down in an attempt to split the remaining Rangers and force them to call on the others for assistance. On the other hand, to be regarded as a massive threat by the attacking evil force that a monster was personally sent to kill you was somewhat of a compliment…if one actually liked being complimented by the creatures who wanted to rampage over one's dead body. Shuddering lightly at that thought, she picked up a medium-sized rock by her feet and prepared to stand up.

"What are you doing? We need to think this through!"

Bree made a face for a split second as she realised the woman next to her was correct. On the other hand, her plan didn't really consist of more than 'find out what my lasers did to it'. The finer details would be fleshed out using instinct and tapping into whatever strange power was inside her. Perhaps if she linked it to a trigger word, she could fire those creatures out on command. The only issue was what would happen if the monster sucked them out of her body entirely. Would they return to her when it was destroyed or would her one, and possibly only, chance at being a Ranger of sorts vanish in a pyrotechnic burst? Whatever the case, it was a risk she was absolutely unwilling to take…which brought her back to square one.

"Found you!"

Moving on instinct, she dove to the right as the pile of rubble exploded outward. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Olivia roll over a hedge and away from the line of sight of the monster. Sneaking a fleeting glance at the rock in her hand, she swung her arm back and lobbed it as hard as she could at the monster's head. Surprisingly enough, it was still uncovered and unprotected by whatever armour had sprung out. However, the rock had no sooner left her hand when she spied something she hadn't noticed before. Whereas before its impossibly wide mouth had been the most distinguishing feature of its head, now it had a strange curved horn rising from the back of its skull. She could have kicked herself, yet watched a glowing red light slowly build on the tip. Picking up more chunks of concrete and asphalt, she began to fling them at the creature as fast as she could…noticing with growing dismay the thin beams of energy that smashed through each of the projectiles before it could hit the monster. If she didn't think of something fast, this wouldn't end well.

Rolling along the ground as the creature finally realised it could blast energy from its horn, she groaned under her breath as she lifted a rather heavy cube of concrete. She could hear the roar of blood in her ears mixed with the very animalistic roar of the beasts awakening once more inside her. Not wanting to infuse the rock with the power from the beasts, she braced herself and threw the cube at the air above the monster's head. Even with the energy helping her throw, her arms screamed in protest as the stone left her hands and it was all she could do not to collapse to the ground under the pain from her aching muscles. Running to Olivia's side as she heard the blast shatter the concrete cube, she threw an arm across her shoulders and began looking for a better hiding spot.

As she had planned, the cube didn't disintegrate upon impact with the lasers. Rather, it shattered into smaller chunks that the monster had to keep firing at so its attention was elsewhere. Despite having seemed as if she was keeping her cool, one look into Olivia's eyes showed that she was anything but. The redhead internally praised the training that the school would have given the teachers on how to deal with monster attacks if this was how everyone would act…yet there was a hint of darkness in the depths, something that nagged at her and whispered doubts in her ear. Shaking her head, she dragged the woman to a protected alcove leading into a repurposed Monster Shelter and looked around for weapons of some sorts. What she saw didn't fill her with a lot of confidence but allowed her mind to work at several times the speed. A few plastic tubs containing some sort of grey-red powder and thin silver material that looked like cooking foil. If that was what she thought…well, she would have to work fast.

"Hey ugly! Over here!"

She watched as the monster turned her way and swallowed in fear as the gravity of the situation finally caught up to her. What the Hell was she doing, trying to destroy a monster that could absorb anything it touched? There was a very high chance that the creature would absorb the effort and everything would be for naught…but she had to try. If her first solution failed, she would keep trying again and again until she managed to destroy the creature without assistance. Sure, it would paint an even larger target on her back and force the aliens on the Moon to see her as a viable threat; however, it would be worth it in the end. Bringing her hands out from behind her back, she looked down at the bucket she held in her gloved hands. The over-sized garments hung off her fingers almost comically, but she could see tiny strips of silver in the dusty mix. Taking a shaky breath in, she fixed the lid in place and heaved the full bucket onto her shoulder.

"Take this!"

For the second time in the span of ten minutes, her muscles screamed in agony as the girl tossed a heavy projectile at the monster. Somewhere between leaving her hands and hitting the monster, the lid she had fixed in place came off and some of the powder spilled out of the bucket. Bree made a mental note of where the powder landed and noted, with some small degree of relief, that there was no twinkle of silver in the mess. So, on the bright side, she didn't have to worry about some yahoo with a lit match cutting through the pavement…yet that would mean the attack would be slightly less effective. On the, admittedly hypothetical, third hand, she favoured getting the monster destroyed over allowing several bits to survive unblasted. The bottom of the bucket bounced comically off the head of the creature and it looked down as if it was some sort of bomb. She held her breath as it lifted its right arm and hovered above the powdery mix. Olivia was still slumped in the alcove, her eyes glazing over slightly as the shock of the situation finally gripped her. She was safe and that was all that mattered…until she started asking more questions about the words of the monster. Bree wasn't sure what she would say in that regard.

The arm plunged into the mix and its flesh began rippling as the new substance was sucked into its body. The creature snarled softly as it felt the different texture changing its internals. There was a slightly metallic taste in its mouth and it swore that there were silver scraps dancing through its eyes but that was of a minor annoyance. If it meant the allies of the Rangers were destroyed sooner, it would put up with the discomfort. Mutator just hoped there was nothing flammable in the mix. An elemental absorber could easily repurpose fire, water and even air into deadly weapons but a Repurposer like him would keep the fire as a whole reaction for a few short seconds. He wondered if he had made a mistake in both coming to the planet too soon and informing Jabarkas that he was indeed a shape-changer. As the steel armour plates and blade fell away from his body and the spines reformed, he turned his gaze back to the human that Jabarkas had informed him was a danger to the Master.

"Come here little girl. Come to your death!"

Bree rolled her eyes as she ran away from the creature. There was only one chance she had for a flame to ignite the magnesium in the mix and she prayed that it hadn't gone out. Leaping over slabs of rubble and dodging the energy beams from the horn that, strangely enough, hadn't burnt out with the absorption of the mix. Jumping up as a burst of heat caught her left heel; she used a fallen piece of rebar as a springboard and vaulted the last few feet to the puddle of still-flaming oil. As three blasts flew above her head, something caught her eye at the edge of the puddle – a lab coat that had been dropped too close to the edge of the puddle and was, for lack of a better word, burning. Well, the flames were present, the material was being consumed at a slow pace and all of the sounds normally associated with a fire were present but there wasn't any smoke or heat. She would only have one chance for this to work and she had to act swiftly.

Dropping to the ground, she grabbed the only part of the jacket that wasn't on fire and slowly stood up. Keeping a close eye on her grip to ensure her hand didn't burn up, she waited until the monster was literally at arm's length. The ore mix that had been in the bucket was peppered over its skin as a form of armour and she fervently hoped at least some of it was inside the beast. As the monster stopped, she briefly wondered of the Ultra Rangers ever allowed a monster to come so close to them. The distance was possibly a double-edged sword though as the monster would be able to see any move they made to destroy it. Silently hoping that her 'energy dinosaurs' would protect her from the resulting explosion, she steeled herself for what she had to do. The creature came closer and lifted its right arm up, revealing that there was a small 'mouth' where the palm was. Its 'lips' peeled back to reveal rows and rows of tiny, silver teeth; all of which looked razor sharp and ready to make her a part of it forever.

Swallowing nervously, she took a small half-step back and, as both mouths of the monster began to curl up in a bloodthirsty smile, flung the blazing jacket directly at the right arm. As expected, the 'mouth' opened wide to swallow the improvised weapon whole and, as with most monsters that operated on instinct, took a while to realise what it had swallowed wasn't something that could be easily 'digested'. Bree edged back a few more steps as she waited for the first flames to ignite the magnesium strips. If what she had overheard from the scientists was correct, the flame seemed to burn brighter and 'hotter' in an enclosed environment. How they could test the heat emitted from something that didn't emit heat was beyond her understanding but she could hear the flames crackling as they sought out flammable materials. Eyes searching the practically-deserted streets for a place to duck and cover from whatever reaction signalled the end of the strange shifting monster. A sharp crack made her look the creature in the eyes, the very ones that were starting to spark as the flames took hold. Spinning on her heel, Bree ran away from the monster as the final pieces of her plan fell into place.

It was either a combination of dumb luck and extreme coincidence that she had found that bucket of ready-to-ignite thermite mix but, all things considered, she shouldn't have been that surprised. The metal from the scouts and the larger armour plates of the cruisers were highly resistant to the blowtorches that were employed to try cutting them up. The Astro Rangers had declined to help, paving the way for the arrival of the Lightspeed Rangers and their extremely heavy-duty plasma cutters. Yet the other cutters would need some form of ammunition or melting agent, which readily explained the thermite buckets. A roar of pain forced her to look over her shoulder, her eyes widening as she struggled to run faster. The monster was a literal humanoid torch, tongues of flame jutting out from every orifice it could find and making its appearance seem less crude and more demonic. It was almost like a beast from Hell was after her and her mind came up blank on what to do next.

Rounding a corner, she spotted what appeared to be large slabs of ice that had been removed from the freezer of one of the nearby fast food chains. The requisite warning signs were around the slabs, yet one was loaded onto a strange device that looked like a catapult. By far, it was the largest piece of ice on the ground and she could see a refrigerated truck nearby with both rear doors open, indicating the ice was about to be transported elsewhere. Leaping over one of the signs, she crouched next to the catapult-like device and studied the controls. It was a design powered by hydraulics, but could act like the siege weapon under certain conditions. Groaning as she attempted to push the catapult into position, she grabbed the 'firing' mechanism from the underside of the control panel and prayed to Celestia that this would work.

She would only get one chance.

TBC…


	50. 49: Working Out

AN: Powers Unleashed hits 100K words on 16/1/2013! Rest assured, I have many things planned for all worlds…both good and bad.

Chapter Forty Nine: Working Out

That may not have been one of her better ideas.

Bree sighed to herself and looked out at the new crater in one of the side streets and shook her head. It was now ingrained into her mind that mixing lit thermite with ice was not a very smart thing to do as the shockwave had almost ruptured her eardrums. In fact, she was absolutely sure they had been torn but the Power or whatever it was had healed them somewhat. She would get the technical analysis from Billy or Weihan later, but she didn't care for the technical aspects as it would serve nothing more than yet another headache. Turning away from the reinforced window, she wondered if there had been any other consequences to blowing up a creature with a thermite and ice mix. On their last phone call, her sister had mentioned something about an interesting show popping up on TV focusing on the science behind 'busting myths' or something. On the other hand, a thermite and ice reaction wasn't really in the category of 'sucking toilets' or 'elephants being afraid of mice'. Maybe in the future it would be something worthwhile for the show to test out but, all things considered, she had serious doubts the show would be renewed for a second season. Maybe the Feds would be banging on her door and asking her where her strength had come from. She didn't know what to expect in the future.

"You still haven't answered my question, Bree."

Yet, she wished everything would happen so she didn't have to be in the situation she was in now. After the dust had settled and the chunks of monster flesh and ice had finally stopped falling from the sky, she had doubled back to see how Olivia was holding up. The Australian-Italian woman had curled up into the foetal position and was mumbling to herself something that she couldn't quite make out at first. Bree hadn't even noticed that she had dropped her bag off with the woman but, to be fair, she did have other things on her mind at the time. It wasn't until she was half supporting and half dragging her to the college that she finally managed to hear what was being said. They were names of those who had started very recently. Bree's steps faltered as she heard her name spoken right before Olivia's train of thought had crashed back to her 'square one' – the comment the monster had made about both of them being allies of the Rangers. She had barely made it across the threshold of one of the classes on the second level before the teacher had started to break down spectacularly. There was no crying or screaming, just a sort of shudder that travelled through her body along with very tiny purple energy bolts. It was just the icing on the cake of the events of the past thirty minutes and solidified the notion to induct her into the Rangers or Sentinels as soon as feasibly possible.

"I'm waiting for an answer."

The only problem was that to have some degree of proof she hadn't lost her marbles, she would need Weihan or one of the other Crystal Rangers to help. Seeing that they weren't on the same dimensional plane anymore that would be a bit of an issue but she could, within reason, teleport her to the Ultra Cavern to explain but she needed to know that the woman could keep their secret with her life. Walking over to her bag that she had dumped on one of the tables, she unzipped it and withdrew the slightly-battered book that she hadn't had the time, or the inclination, to read and set it on the table before the shell-shocked teacher. She kept silent, hoping that the curiosity in the other woman would keep her from revealing too much, too soon.

"What is this book?"

Olivia took her eyes off the silent student in front of her as the design on the cover drew her in. The strange coin with the hybridised dinosaur sparkled in the fluorescent lights with an odd purple light. Lifting a shaking hand, she allowed her fingers to trace over the coin as…something indescribable but resonant unlocked within her. Images appeared in her mind's eye of Rangers and the enemies they were up against, of massive metal machines blasting through the skies above and towering creatures dying in balls of fire and smoke. It was all surreal as to why these images were being thrust into her mind as she didn't think of herself as Ranger material. More to the point, she was trying to work out why the monster had said she was an ally of a Ranger and she wasn't looking to become one anytime soon. Running her fingers over the other coins, she was surprised to find herself mildly disappointed that no more images flashed into her mind. It was as if that one coin in particular was the one for her…or something to that effect.

"What do you see in that coin?"

The voice from the girl made her blink in surprise. There were no trace inflections she could hear, almost as if she had seen some of the images herself in one of the other coins. If, in fact, Bree and the others were allies of the Rangers, she would have to report them to her sister for questioning. Even if the murders weren't committed by any Ranger villain, she would still need their help and expertise to stop the rapidly mutating creatures from swarming around everyone and everything. That they hadn't done so yet was, in Ben's words, 'a train wreck waiting to happen at the worst possible occurrence'. Shaking her head slowly, she traced her fingers over the design once more. If she concentrated hard enough, she could have sworn she felt the subtle trembles of movement under her feet and the smell of smoke and fires drifting past her nose. An odd sound flashed in her ears for a few seconds…something almost like metal clashing on metal. Looking down at her left wrist, her eyes widened slightly as her watch was replaced by a metallic wristband similar to the ones she had seen a few of the students wearing. Rubbing her eyes, she looked again only to see nothing out of the ordinary.

"You're seeing it, aren't you."

It wasn't a question and Olivia felt herself nod. A myriad of explanations ran across her mind in a vain attempt to reason with what she knew shouldn't have happened. Maybe there were drugs on the book that had somehow seeped into her system. Had she placed her fingers into her mouth at any point? She didn't know, nor did she think so. Hypnotic suggestion was an option but she seriously doubted the girl in front of her knew anything about implanting subliminal messages into words or images. That just left the monster and whatever strange things it had spewed out; who would know what exposure to the beams would do to her unprotected mind? However, even that theory fell through when she applied a bit of thought to it: Bree had been exposed to the beams and, while none of them had struck her directly, she seemed fine. A few other students had been in the open during monster attacks such as Liz and Weihan and, as far as she could tell, they seemed as normal as they had been before.

"It ain't normal or natural for regular folk but to have those images in your head takes a very special type of person."

Bree wondered where on Earth that drivel had come from. Maybe it was a by-product of being connected to the Sacred Powers to sound all mentor-like and mysterious but it was going to give her, and those she spoke to, a massive headache trying to work everything out. Attempting to smooth down her uniform, she felt a strange object in the inside pocket of her blazer and she groaned silently as she realised what it was. With a sigh of disgusted frustration, she took out her communicator and clipped it on her left wrist; all the while wondering if drawing upon the Sacred Powers made her more and more forgetful. She would have doubted it if it wasn't for listening to Rocky, Adam and Jason joking about how repeated exposure to the Power had made Tommy's memory worse than before he had become a Ranger. On the other hand, Zack and Kim had argued that the Power had made his memory better in the long run as he had (somehow) been able to complete a full PhD in Palaeontology as well as learning how to teach. That was the option she was hoping would happen but if it meant a period of forgetting how to breathe…

"What are you trying to say?"

Bree shook her head as she heard the dull buzzing that signalled the 'all clear' for the Monster Shelter locks to be released. Picking up the book once more and lamenting the fact that she had yet to even open the front cover, she looked the young woman in the eyes and smiled to herself. No matter what secrets would be laid bare, she knew she had found her second team member. She only needed the third member and to somehow get their Morphers and they would be able to stand up with the others. Slinging her bag onto her shoulder, she extended her right hand to Olivia and spoke in a quiet tone.

"Come with me."

TBC…


	51. 50: Crashing

AN: 50 Chapters (51 with the Prologue), 100K+ words and the ¼ mark has been passed. Hang on folks, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

Chapter Fifty: Crashing

"This is…amazing!"

Olivia looked around her in wonder at the technology that filled the rather spacious cavern. Seeing this almost made up for the terror she had felt when the first ripples of energy had raced through her body and she had witnessed the terrifying sight of her limbs disintegrating in front of her eyes. That hadn't compared to the feeling of absolute terror on flying through the air at speeds that shouldn't have been reached by the human body, nor the stark terror she had felt upon landing in a pitch-black location. She never would have imagined the student to be this well connected that she had what amounted to a Batcave in her backyard or wherever she was and the 'transportation beam' effect was cool but could be easily explained away by illusions and air jets. Yet, no matter how much she wanted to convince herself otherwise, there were two things that seriously made her pause and think about her situation.

She hadn't been touched. That was something she knew for certain and, try as she might, she couldn't think of how that ripple of energy could be replicated. It wasn't something that had been felt externally like an electric shock, rather it was like the dawning sense of realisation she had felt when her sister had told her that, yes, there were genetically modified moths killing people. She was aware that explanation didn't really make a whole lot of sense, but it wasn't as if someone was going to be reading her thoughts and internal monologue anytime soon. She didn't care much about that though, if only for the reason that she somehow knew that she was looking at the actual Zords used by the Ultra Rangers and not some cleverly disguised fakes. She was aware Bree was at one of the consoles near a large box/doorway device and she supposed she would get her answers soon. She took a shaky step towards the Utahraptor Dinozord that sat in its holding bay and swallowed hard. The footage on the news hadn't really captured the sheer size and scope of the mighty machine and she found herself wondering what battled the pilot had seen…and what the near-constant fighting would have on his or her psyche.

"Where are we?"

Bree looked up from the Interdimensional Communication panel and sighed softly. Maybe it had been foolish of her to teleport to the Ultra Cavern, but it was the only place they could talk without being interrupted by curious eavesdroppers. The teleportation had been the easy part as convincing her of her destiny would be a lot harder, given that she could see that Jabarkas had sent down a few dozen squads of Golems in and around the Sydney CBD area and even as far as Blue Bay Harbour and Mariner Bay. There was also the small part about her not having received any Morphers per se, but she was sure she could work around that with some small amount of BS. After all, she had heard the incredibly awkward spiel Weihan had given the others. She didn't know what had happened to make Emma decide to join up so suddenly, but she had a feeling it would involve things that would seriously make her head throb in agony. Opening her mouth, she made a split second decision to allow Olivia to answer her own questions.

"Where do you think we are?"

Olivia sighed in annoyance and looked around her once more, this time really looking at the objects around her. She knew she was in the base of the Ultra Rangers, but she wasn't going to say it out loud just yet as that would make reality come crashing down onto her. The reality of the situation would probably involve her being interrogated to within an inch of her life by the Rangers on what she knew and who she had spoken to in the last few days, after which she would have her memory wiped and be left a blank state. Shuddering at that mental image, she stepped closer to one of the screens and peered at the images. It showed one of her 'main assistants' in one of the First Year classes at the birthday party that had been thrown for another student. Of course, she had been invited to join but there had been other things that she had to deal with. After learning about the monster attack and the damage that had been done to that poor boys mind, she was counting her blessings that she had her memory intact. She continued to watch the recording for a few more moments, before turning to Bree. She opened her mouth to ask once more where they were when a flash of colour caught her eye. She turned back to the screen as the scene repeated itself and felt her mouth drop open at what she saw next.

The boy, Weihan his name was, reacted to an off-screen event and stood up – a complete change going over him from sullen and slightly brooding to what seemed to be a capable and confident leader. The girls around him stood up a tiny bit straighter and a strange blonde sitting at the bar seemed to take notice of what was happening as Weihan seemed to spout off a series of orders or commands. Then, he started running to where she knew the fence was and swung his left wrist up; hitting something on it that hadn't been there before. Just as the boy reached the edge of the screen, a bright orange light engulfed him and for the briefest of moments, she could have sworn that the familiar outline of the Orange Ranger could be seen. However, that was all but impossible, wasn't it? One look at Bree's face was all it took to confirm her questions.

Her knees buckled beneath her and she felt herself slump into a chair…that had somehow appeared out of nowhere. She didn't care anymore as she was slipping into shock for the second time that morning. One of her students, specifically the one she had picked due to his unassuming nature, was the Orange Ranger and, potentially, one of the strongest people on the planet. She wondered if he had ever felt embarrassed at her clinging behaviour in the past and if he even spared a moment's notice for the lives of those around him. She supposed he would care as the recording looped back to the beginning, noticing him looking nervously at those around him before he started speaking. Shaking her head once more, she sighed and placed both hands down on the surface in front of her. She didn't even register her fingers brushing against the buttons until she noticed the image on the screen had changed.

She saw three young boys, running down a stairwell of some sort. Squinting, she could just make out the features of a much younger Weihan as he produced an orange crystal from his jacket. The two other boys next to him stared at it in shock and surprise as they slowly caught up. The mouth of the Asian boy began moving but the recorded image didn't seem to be able to pick up the words being said. Closing her eyes as the crystal on the screen started glowing, she leant back and tried to process everything that she had just learnt and was still continuing to learn. Weihan Liang, the somewhat reserved buy in her class that had been 'chosen' as her 'assistant' was the Orange Ranger. She didn't need to keep watching the screens to know that was an undeniable fact. Point number two was that she now knew why the monster had called her an ally of the Rangers. There was something about the truth clicking inside her mind that made her mentally promise not to tell anyone without the explicit permission of the Orange Ranger.

Quickly moving away from that thought before her mind could wander down the 'explicit' road, she slowly ran through the events of the battle with the monster. There was something a bit off about the whole affair, something that wasn't quite right with everything. Knowing from experience what adrenaline pumping through the body could do to ones body, she started to dismiss the feats done by Bree as in the heat of the moment when her mind snapped to the thing in question that had been seriously bothering her. Before the throwing of rocks and buckets of mix, there had been something blasted at the monster that allowed it to gain its ability to fire off lasers. Opening her eyes to focus on the screen, she reached out and pressed a triangular button that was flashing purple. After nothing untoward happened, Olivia looked down to see that the buttons had changed, although morphed would have been a better word, into a track-pad type interface with helpful descriptions as to what each of the buttons did.

"Need help?"

She looked behind her to see Bree watching her with a neutral look on her face. The girl would have had to know of Weihan's secret and, yet, she had kept quiet. To have that much self control was a feat she desperately wished she had in her past…but that thought was neither here nor there. Shaking her head, Bree nodded at her and turned back to resume fiddling with the console in front of her. Moving her fingers over the buttons, she could see small snippets of video begin playing, seemingly all revolving around Weihan and his double life as a Ranger. She could see him working on his Zord, training in some sort of simulated world against what looked to be a horde of zombies, working on a device that was connected to a surprisingly detailed and realistic dinosaur-based helmet and, in a sight that made her wish to never be on the opposing side of the Rangers, a massive Zord battle in an assault against what looked to be a building on the surface of the moon. She looked behind her as Bree pulled the strange book out of her bag and opened the cover. She wished she knew what bringing her here had really accomplished and if it had anything to do with the strange feeling inside her.

"Time to get serious…"

Bree muttered curses under her breath as she flipped through the book. Opening the cover had been one thing, but skimming through the book gave her nothing more than what Zhane had told her. She needed concrete proof to show Olivia that she was serious about bringing her into the fold of Rangers and since Weihan wasn't answering his communicator for some reason…well, she had no choice but to wait for the signal to bounce back or take the woman through the Dimensional Doorway once more. She chose the former option as the latter would be not a very smart undertaking, since she was the only one in 'Mission Control'. Pushing all thoughts out of her mind, she decided the best thing to do in a situation like this was to do something the Orange Ranger was renown for doing: winging it. Maybe that plan also wasn't the best plan, but it would allow her greater flexibility in her options.

Time to see if she could make it work.

TBC…


	52. 51: Change of Plan

Chapter Fifty One: Change of Plan

"You should really stop that sometime."

Jabarkas paused, shook his head and continued banging his forehead on the rocky outer wall of the Moon Palace. Dealing with his headache this way was better than letting his brain pulse in absolute agony as it tried to wrap around the situation it had found itself in. Yit had given up on trying to make him stop, so the duty fell to Twinlobe to see that Jabarkas didn't hurt himself any more than he was already doing. So far, nothing had changed except opening a few new gouges in his face, which was nothing more than a minor distraction…wait, why was his mind screaming that he had thought that before? Anyway, anything was better than dwelling on the train wreck of the past few hours.

Mutator had arrived earlier than scheduled and had somehow slipped past the Moon Palace without being briefed on the situation below. Yit had acted quickly and had sent down a few groups of Golems and Fiends to keep the Rangers busy while Mutator attacked. The monster had seen the footage and had seen the human girl being protected by the Silver Ranger, leading him to correctly guess that she was an ally of the Rangers. That had pretty much been the last note of contact Jabarkas had before the connection had been 'mysteriously' lost. Nevertheless, Jabarkas had tracked the movements of Mutator through the viewscreen and had even choked out a laugh at seeing one of the strongest monsters in the known Universe be destroyed by a bucket of powder and an open flame. A few seconds after that, he had felt the first pains start through his head and he had come outside to bash his brains in.

It was all rather strange and surreal, if one really thought about it. They had lost a monster by sending it against an unarmed and unprotected girl whose only connection with the Rangers was that, if he had heard correctly, she was the younger sister of the ex-girlfriend of the Orange Ranger and had connections with most of the other Rangers around the world. That alone made her extremely volatile 'material' as she couldn't be used as a hostage without bringing the wrath of several dozen Rangers on their heads. After seeing the destruction wrought by the Rangers on the assault of the first Moon Fortress, he had no inclination of such a feat being witnessed by him ever again. The last communication they had with someone on the other side of the barrier hadn't given him much hope either. The one that called himself Discord had informed them that Master Xonix had overstretched himself once again and had lapsed into yet another Power Coma…even though he had a less dangerous growing spell in his arsenal. The humanoid pony had said he would be carrying out the wishes of Night Shade, but he didn't hear anything but thinly veiled lies coming from the pony in front of him. If he could have activated the Plane Crosser, he would have beaten the smugness out of that mammal.

Dark Hoof had expressed his great surprise that the fleet attacking the Rangers had failed so spectacularly but had relented somewhat after seeing the recorded footage. He had expressed great shock that the Rangers on such a 'primitive world' would be able to achieve such a feat, yet it was very clear to the Huran that Dark Hoof was very much out of the loop due to his imprisonment. Yet, the leader of the Trotters had informed him that Xonix had given him implicit authority to act on his behalf on sending down monsters – something that Jabarkas had been surprised at. The connection had cut off before he could respond but he knew the equine beast didn't care for what he had to say anyway. The conversation had taken all of ten minutes but the headache hadn't stopped and was threatening to make his brain burst out of his skull.

"It could be worse. We could have nothing to do except twiddle our thumbs."

Jabarkas pulled his head away from the cracked wall and thought about it. Yes, Mutator had failed horribly but there were still two other monsters en route to Earth and hopefully one of them would have the skills needed to take down two unprotected humans. The strange thing was the absence of the Orange Ranger or any of the other Crystal Rangers. Dark Hoof had said something about 'mysterious allies' of the equine Rangers but hadn't elaborated on who could have helped the other Rangers. Oh well, that was something to worry about another time.

"Yes…what is the next monster to be unleashed?"

Twinlobe pulled out a small device and tapped a few buttons. Streams of data flooded the tiny screen with a speed that would have made even the fastest of readers go blind within moments, but Twinlobe knew his eyes and mind could cope with the massive amount of data. Once they had found the room, he had spent a long time compiling all of the magical measuring devices and their data into the device that he had created to accurately reflect which creatures would be 'awakening' first. Out of the several remaining creatures that were ensconced behind their time delay spells, he was very much hoping that one in particular would never be released as it was too unpredictable. The one Lord Zedd had placed on the planet himself was in that number but, judging from the strength of the spell, Dryken wouldn't be breaking free for a long time. Stopping the data with a quick squeeze, he scrolled down using the wheel on the side until he found what he was looking for.

"According to the reports, it is a beast that the Master created with the help of the Machine Empire after the first destruction of King Mondo. According to these deign notes; it is based off some old entertainment program the humans watched."

Jabarkas snorted to himself and wiped the blood away from his eyes. Of course his Master had gone back to the Machine Empire again after the destruction of Cyb-Org and had commissioned another monster. From what he remembered of Prince Sprocket and his monster designs, he was both intrigued and a little sceptical as to what – if anything – the mad mind of the young robot had produced. If it was based off an old television show then pinning down the exact reference would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Slamming his forehead onto the wall once more, he grumbled under his breath and tried to think of anything but the searing pain in his mind.

"A mechanical monster created by the son of Mondo will not be a great deterrent. Is there anything –"

"There is a second one to be released at the same time. A monster created by the magic of Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa and called the Tenga Queen. It seems Lord Xonix was only told about it after their purification."

Twinlobe's eyes bulged out as he scrolled through the rudimentary notes compiled by Zedd and Rita regarding the Tenga Queen. As with all Tengas created previously, the monster was extremely agile and strong; the strength tests alone put it on par with the Tengu Warriors Ivan Ooze had 'mass produced'. It was also smart and could adapt to tactics at the drop of a hat, providing to create warriors and infest tall and cramped places. He didn't know why, but he had a strange feeling one of the office buildings in one of the cities would be used as a potential 'release point'. It would be very interesting to see what would happen during that attack as the creatures would have to decide on whether to help each other out…or to destroy the other on sight. He nodded once to Jabarkas and then, after making sure he wasn't going to continue hurting himself, slid back into the Moon Palace.

"Great…waiting."

Jabarkas shook his head and chuckled as the blood swam into his eyes once more. He could wait and wait until the Y'lchn came home but that would achieve nothing productive. Giving the blue and green sphere in the sky one last baleful look, the Huran began walking back to his quarters to get himself patched up. There were things that needed to be done and prepared for the monsters but that could all be done later. In fact, the waiting would have been one of the easiest parts of the 'job'…except for one small thing.

He hated waiting.

TBC…


	53. 52: Jumbled

Chapter Fifty Two: Jumbled

Maybe she should have phrased it better.

Bree looked at the woman in front of her and shook her head slowly. There were better way to tell a person of their destiny than 'You are a potential Ranger Sentinel' as it was just too out of the blue and didn't really give any other information. The words 'potential Ranger' would have gone over slightly worse but whether or not that would have been the right path to take would now be a question for the ages as there was nothing she could do to take them back. However, judging from the look on Olivia's face, she seemed to be taking it rather well. The Australian-Italian woman just nodded slowly and slumped over in her seat as if her thoughts would provide a shield from reality. Bree just hoped she didn't have to ask Kim to have a chat with her; especially not when she was trying to rebuild a life in Reefside with Tommy. With Anton Mercer presumed dead and the Red Zeo Ranger in possession of three strange and coloured crystals, there was absolutely no reason for him to be drawn into the world of the Power Rangers once more. Snorting lightly at the sarcasm that practically dripped from the thoughts, she turned back to see that the call had gone through. However, the tone of his voice was incredibly tired and utterly exhausted.

"Bree, what's up?"

She swallowed hard and snuck a peek at the woman behind her. Olivia had seemingly snapped out of her stupor and was idly staring around her, as if trying to focus on anything but the bombshell that had been dropped into her world. Sighing softly, she turned back to the screen to begin speaking to her dimensionally 'misplaced' friend. However, the words died on her lips at the rather strange sight that was in front of her. Over the past few months, she had seen Weihan looking tired, determined and had once even walked in on him, Rachelle and Karone…and had spent the next forty minutes trying to get that image out of her brain. Yet, never in her imagination did she think he would be looking so tired that he would just fall over with almost no notice. A flash of a light pink mane at his side told Bree that the Orange Ranger was being gently propped up by an equally tired looking Pegasus, whatever her name was. Blinking hard at the sight, she opened her mouth and spoke.

"We were attacked by a monster a few hours ago and certain events lead me to reveal everything to her. Weihan, she's the second one, I can feel it inside."

He blinked lazily, as if the words had yet to penetrate into his mind and she swallowed hard. She waited for the shouting to begin but all he did was shake his head, as if clearing it. Briefly, she wondered what exactly had happened in the past few hours that would make the Orange Ranger look almost like a corpse. Was it that he had died and come back to life once more or was it something a bit more mundane than that? She asked him if he had heard her and, at his nod, she relaxed slightly. Mulling over her words, she chuckled to herself at the phrasing of what she was feeling inside her body. What she had said to the Ranger sounded like she had gotten more…intimate with Olivia than they she actually had. A small smile danced around her lips as she wondered what the implications of a teleport at extremely close range would be considered.

"You did what?"

The words filtered through the fog-like haze present in Olivia's mind as she looked everywhere that wasn't at the girl. What was a Ranger Sentinel and why was she so adamant on making her one? Sure, she had felt a strange stirring within her when she had touched the strange engraving but, while she had heard of artists getting 'vibes' from various things, she didn't know what made her so special. There were, of course, many other people that could be better suited for the role; people who were in the armed forces or police should have been the starting points. There was also the fact that there were six or seven billion others on Earth that could easily take up the mantle, even when one took away the obvious exceptions of the very young and very elderly. She blinked at the strange silver shimmer begin to form on the surface of one of the Zords as it seemed to repair the scratches and scrapes that had been there not more than seconds ago. There was no way that repair works would be done that quickly, just as there was no way the ragged and tired boy on the screen was Weihan. There was no connection to the boy she had seen just the week before except the eyes, which seemed to stare into her soul. The tone didn't register either as she had never heard him sound so shocked or surprised before. Bree's reply seemed to be a mile underwater, yet she could hear it perfectly.

"You know, you can ask her yourself. She's still trying to wrap her head around everything."

Olivia shook her head slowly and forced out a mirthless chuckle. Genetically modified moths killing people was one thing but finding out your students were Rangers and were trying to get you to join up? She didn't think there was an entry in the 'Survival Guide to Life' for that particular scenario. Taking in a few deep breaths, she tried to calm her rattled nerves. Everything was real and not some hallucination brought about by the relatively violent destruction of the monster. She had pinched her arms and legs over and over until a few bruises had started to form and had even tried to access a mobile signal…yet there didn't seem to be one available. Everywhere she looked, she could see things and features that didn't seem to be carved by human hands. The smoothness of the rocky walls and the strange cargo lift-like opening in the middle of the floor were a few of the oddities, as was a strange nozzle device perched on a flexible arm. Shaking the numbness out of her legs, she pushed herself out of the surprisingly comfortable chair and took her first few steps forward.

The Cavern seemed to stretch for miles in every conceivable direction and she found herself wondering what it would look like empty. It would be a perfect spot for orchestral arrangements or choral performances as the acoustics were just right to carry sound, yet there was no doubt in her mind that the Rangers wanted to keep everything a secret from the outside world. Scoffing at her choice of words, she looked at the Zords once more – the mighty and majestic machines standing vigil over the Rangers as they went about their pre-battle strategies. What would it be like to ride one of them and to feel the power humming all around you? She licked her lips in excitement before catching herself and shaking some sense into her mind. Piloting a Zord was the term that was used, not riding as that word would have a sexual connotation applied to it for the foreseeable future.

"She's always mentioned the freaky similarities but…yeah."

Snapping her mind back to the present moment, she cautiously stepped up behind Bree and looked at the screen. Weihan was still there and he looked slightly more awake and active. However, there was an orange pony next to him with big green eyes, white freckles and a long blonde mane which was, ironically enough, done up in a pony tail. As the blonde pony was nodding, the notion that they could actually understand what her student was saying was almost too much for her mind to bear. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open slowly as the tired boy rolled his eyes and reached down to poke at something off-screen. A startled squeak was the final straw and her mind completely shut down. The odd thing was, her mouth still worked.

"What…what…where…ponies?"

Bree shook her head tiredly. This was not how she expected things to have gone but, now that all the cards had been dealt, she needed to rein in the situation quickly. Pressing the mute button that was near the microphone, she turned around to see Olivia steady herself on a nearby console. Opening her mouth, she took a few moments to gather her thoughts before speaking.

"Weihan is the Orange Ultra Ranger and the ponies next to him are the Rangers of their dimension. He is helping them with an important matter regarding their current enemy. Ah don't know a whole lot about the Ranger Sentinels either but Ah know that there are only three people in the world qualified to harness that power. Me, you an' some other person close to us. Anything anyone knows is in that book and only when all three of us are present can we receive the Powers in full."

"Why should I believe you or any of this? What's stopping me from going to the media and telling them where to dig?"

Bree rolled her shoulders and looked back at the monitor. Weihan was talking to Applejack about something rather serious, judging from the look on his face, and was drawing plans up for other things as well. Whether or not they would be their Morphers was anyone's guess, but she would wait and see. Shaking her head, she looked up at the teacher and spoke in a low voice.

"Because that's not the type of person you are."

TBC…


	54. 53: Learning the Ropes

Chapter Fifty Three: Learning the Ropes

"Go faster!"

Bree felt streams of sweat pour down her face as her arms ached from the exertion. Reaching up with her arms, she grabbed onto the rope and pulled her body up a few more centimetres, groaning in utter exhaustion. Craning her head to the rope alongside her, she coughed lightly under her breath as she saw Olivia learning the, for lack of a better word, hard way why not to wear a skirt in a training session. For his part, Weihan didn't seem to be abusing the rather nice view and kept pressing the others to train harder. On the other hand, it was rather difficult to abuse a perverted viewpoint when being attacked by three fully-morphed Crystal Rangers. Climbing up another very short distance, she looked down to see Bec countering almost every fireball blasted her way with her Ice Pistols. The fact that this was a training exercise meant that his fireballs were more like glorified night lights, rather than the balls of instant death they were supposed to be.

In the past three days since the return of the Rangers, Olivia had been slowly getting up to speed with the history of the Rangers. Her skills were being tested in ways that they had never been previously and, judging from the way she moved quite stiffly during lessons, her body was becoming stronger. It was all in readiness to hold the Power and for greater flexibility to make split-second decisions in the heat of battle. So far, almost all of the other Ultra Rangers had allowed this training to continue unimpeded but Bree knew that they were silently waiting their turn with the 'fresh meat'. Rachelle and Eliza, in particular, were practically rubbing their hands together in wicked delight – something that was of little concern to the Orange Ranger. The combat and strength training of the Ranger Sentinels was personally supervised by him but everything else was left up to Bree and her own devices. That was both good and bad as Bree was starting to favour more close-quarter combat training involving heavy amounts of locks and grappling. He was seriously wondering if he could raise more money by setting up a webcam to film the 'training sessions' but his desire to not be killed by AJ was staying his hand.

"Faster! You have to physically move your fingers faster than that!"

As the shout died, Bree finally reached the top of the rope and looked down at the Rangers training. Olivia had expressed some great degree of concern about him being the only unmorphed Ranger, but those concerns had died quickly after seeing him in action. Bree had to admit, there was something about the Asian boy that drew in all females around him but he seemed rather oblivious of the gazes of lust directed his way. He had also started coming out of the shell he had built up around his public persona and that, in turn, had attracted more attention that she would care to admit. However, no matter how much attention he seemed to receive or how many times he was on the receiving end of a lusty gaze by a female student, Bree knew that he still was carrying a torch for her sister. They hadn't spoken much as AJ was helping Andrew with some sort of robotics project, but she knew that she was thinking of him as well. It was almost tragic how they had been forced to separate and had so much free time, yet little for each other. She could only imagine how he felt about everything…and to sever the only remaining link he had to her besides the memories.

Shaking herself out of her funk, she looked over to see Olivia heave herself up the last few inches to the top of the rope. Smiling, the redhead reached up with a free hand and tapped the metal plate above her. Maybe it was a bad idea to do rope-climbing on the Utahraptor Dinozord but it wasn't as if they didn't have adequate protection in case they lost their grip on the rope. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she smirked as she looked down at the rather pitiful amulet that rested just above her breasts. It didn't look like much but it had been specially enchanted by the combined talents of the Mystic Mother and the reformed Scorpina. She fought hard against the giggle that welled up in her throat as she thought of how Weihan had tried to help with the enchanting…only to be unceremoniously booted out. Edward had told him that the female body was not something that he should use his heavy-handed techniques on and had scurried out of the room before the Orange Ranger could protest otherwise.

"Come on already! Applebloom bucks harder than that! Scootaloo dodges faster and she's only a little filly! Don't make me bust out the Cannon!"

He was seriously riling them up. Weihan could see in their body language that his words were having the desired effect in allowing them to tap into their emotions for a power boost. Twirling his Raptor Sabre around, he positioned himself for another attack and allowed his body to move automatically. With Xonix in another one of his Power Comas, Equestria would be safe from his tyranny for a period of time but that wasn't the greatest problem at hand. In between the training sessions and classes, he had picked the minds of Ninjor, Dimitria and Edward trying to find more information about the so-called Ranger Sentinels and what abilities they would have. Dimitria and Ninjor hadn't been much help as they only knew what was in Zordon's Archives and Dulcea had just given him one of her looks that said that he would figure out everything exactly when he was supposed to. He had said it hadn't helped and Rachel had agreed, but she had the brains not to argue with the ancient Ninjetti Masters.

In actual fact, none of those on the side of 'Good' knew any more about the Sentinel Powers. The Phantom Ranger had admitted that he had never come across such a term before in his travels. Auric had just shrugged his shoulders and shaken his head, while both Alphas had practically exhausted their system resources trying to find answers. He was also expressly forbidden to contact the Technology Sector on Eltare ever again but he supposed they would forget about it sooner or later. However, he had soon found out that the 'Evil' side had the better information as the machinations of Dark Spectre had created the myth of the Ranger Sentinels in the first place. The history was steeped in violence, treachery and a healthy dose of forbidden lust…all ending in the creation of the Sentinel Prophecy. Or, at least, that was the name that Master Leiv knew it as. The purified Master Vile had been in the middle of leading a rather confusing battle to free the M-51 Galaxy from his rule when the communication channel had been established. After the mind-warping situation of Leiv's had been pushed aside, the full tale had come out.

Dark Spectre had been in power for almost a century when one of his generals at the time fell into a deep lust with the Princess of the planet Sentris. The Princess had promised the general that she would be his if he could create a trio of warriors that could crush all opposition in their path. The plan was then brought to Dark Spectre and he had personally contributed some of the rocklike material of his skin to be used in the Power Forging. At the end of the three month creation process, the general was dead and Dark Spectre had a trio of Powers that were forevermore tied to Evil. Learning of her would-be lover's death at fulfilling her wish, the Princess had the Powers taken away from Dark Spectre and had attempted to cleanse them with the ancient techniques she had learned from her parents and brother. Although successful in her task, her actions caught the attention of another agent of Dark Spectre: the villainous blob known only as Ooze. The blob had invaded the planet and, though the Protectors of the Mystic Arts had defended the planet valiantly, the blob still managed to burn almost every trace of civilisation to the ground – leaving behind only the Princess and the Monolith that held the Sacred Powers of the Ninjetti…and the purified Sentinel Coins.

Somehow, learning about the Sentinel Powers was making his head hurt more and more than it would have if he had just left well enough alone. He knew that Dulcea was a Ninjetti Priestess but a Princess that had caught the eye of a General in Dark Spectre's army? Well, seeing as she had ensnared him in her charms before he could understand that part but the thought that he had been with, and even inside, royalty was…well, it was overwhelming to put it lightly. Leiv had stated that one of the Sentinel Powers had vanished from the Monolith some time after and the final two coins had disappeared as well. Ninjor had confessed that he had been a Prince a long time ago, but no longer saw himself as one. Everything about the strange Powers and their origins was making his head hurt and made him long for the days of daily monster battles, when the only time he had to think was to figure out a strategy for the monster of the day. Oh well, at least he had applied for the TWPRC if the whole 'saving the Earth' thing didn't pan out. His meeting with the self-styled 'Supreme Commander' wasn't until a few more weeks but he would prepare for anything the 'floating head' analogue threw his way. However, that would be all in the future and now…

"Watch those stances! Sweet Celestia, don't hold back!"

Now, he had Rangers to train…

TBC…


	55. 54: Triple Threat

Chapter Fifty Four: Triple Threat

He rubbed his head and sighed.

The creature in front of him looked like a monster from one of the human's old films, something about a monster that was created from a patchwork of deceased bodies…something that was supposed to scare their feeble minds. Its skin was mottled with patches of light purple mould and the Huran was sure he could smell the bittersweet odour of decaying flesh. However, he had grown somewhat acclimatised to the smell, even if it did seem to grow stronger with each passing week. The other distinguishing feature of the creature was the large sack that was slung across its shoulders. Every now and then, there was a movement from the bag as if something inside was trying to break free but Jabarkas knew it was nothing but the phantom echoes of those already ingested. From the extreme backwater planet of Ciruap, Sancter was one of the best bounty hunters to come out of that galaxy sector for a long time but he had slowly been losing his love for hunting bounties.

"Stick with the plan or postpone it for later?"

Even his voice sounded slightly off as it kept changing pitch mid-sentence, from a child one second and an opera singer the next. The Huran was even sure he could hear the throaty growls of Muiesaf and Muitime's father in the mix, yet he wasn't sure what the towering Huran had done to earn him a 'trip' in Sancter's bag. He had met the bounty hunter in a remote bar outside the limits of Onyx and had taken a liking to the monster right away. After explaining his situation, the creature had surprised him and everyone else in the ramshackle establishment by agreeing to 'hunt' the Ultra Rangers for him. He had said, of course, that there would be a fee for his services as he was not cheap by anyone's standards. The usual upfront fee was waved aside in favour of the, rather dubious, honour of being the first to test what the Ultra Crystal energies had done to some of the female Rangers. When he had heard of his 'reward', Jabarkas had almost wished that the Rangers would destroy him there and then. He hadn't been the only one who was disgusted in the building. Several other monsters that had survived the Z-Wave had heard the 'desires' and had promptly left. A handful had stayed behind and had enquired about the strength of the Rangers, pledging their services to his cause. The downside to this was that most of them were laying low after Jabarkas showed them the footage of the battleship's destruction. The Huran opened his mouth to continue when the communicator on his belt vibrated once. Ignoring the device, he continued.

"Continue with the plan but stay out of the way of the other two. However, your mission objective has changed. Instead of capturing one of the Rangers, I want you to catch these two and hold them for as long as you can."

Tapping a finger on the panel in front of him, the images on the screens around his head changed to the girl that had inexplicably destroyed Mutator and her female companion. He had seen the power readings that had been taken from her and could see that she was well on her way to becoming yet another Ranger or Ranger-like ally. Of course, she could also be headed down the path of the Sentinels, but they would need to find all three members before the Powers could be bestowed…or something like that. One of the 'drawbacks' to a Prophecy Ritual that wasn't advertised was the continuation of the Prophecy after the Ritual was complete. He had scrawled down several other passages of that Prophecy but they had all been in the original Moon Fortress. Seeing how the original Fortress was a still-steaming crater on the surface of the Moon, he doubted he would be getting them back anytime soon.

The Ranger Sentinels needed all three individuals to be present and accepting of their power. He vaguely remembered something about one of the Crystals of Prophecy 'lighting a path to the road of Power' or something like that. There was also something about the leader focusing power and gaining more strength for that but, to be fair, he had been pretty out of it at the time. All of which contributed absolutely nothing to the issue at hand. As Mutator had done before, Sancter had arrived several cycles too early. The bounty hunter had come straight to Jabarkas and had seen the flurry of chaos as they prepared to track the 'awakening' of two separate monsters. The Plane Crosser had registered some strange fluctuations some cycles beforehand which meant the Orange Ranger and his Crystal Rangers had returned from the dimension which held the Master. Of course, he wouldn't have known for sure it had been them if he didn't watch them go about their daily lives.

He glanced at the timer on the panel below his fingers and scowled as the numbers clicked towards the time of release. What had started as days was now rapidly approaching minutes and seconds, the last hour-mark having passed around fifteen minutes ago. If Sancter was going to prepare for an attack and have his plans in place, he would be lucky to have five minutes of unimpeded attack before the other monsters awoke. No, it would be better from a tactical standpoint to have the two monsters battle the Rangers first and whittle down their strength. While the tactician in him knew that splitting the Rangers into three groups was the best strategy that could be taken, he knew that the Tenga Queen would prove more than a match for them. And yet…he shook his head slowly as he reformulated his plan.

"Change of plans. You will prepare and go down as soon as possible but distance yourself from the other monsters. When you capture those two, make sure you taunt the Rangers as much as possible. You won't have any trouble with the captured girls."

Sancter nodded once and Jabarkas fought hard to avoid rolling his eyes. The earlier plan had been well thought out and had contingencies for almost every possibility up to and including a nuclear strike. The monsters in question would more than likely survive said strike but the Rangers, their family and all of the humans in the area would be wiped off the Universe. Whether or not this would shatter the Ultra Crystals again was in question but he wasn't going to get a monster to launch off a missile to confirm. As the bounty hunter left the room, Jabarkas grumbled under his breath and pulled the mechanical communicator from his belt. As expected, the final creature to have waved off his warning had sent him a message informing him of his arrival time. Eyes skimming over the words, Jabarkas felt his horns throb with agony as a dark haze descended over his mind. Yet another reason not to trust a fully mechanical monstrosity…but, all things considered, it couldn't really be helped.

Even so, the third monster was on Earth and would be absorbing data from the battles. It would return after the destruction of the monster created jointly with the Machine Empire and customise its fighting skill to best oppose the Rangers who destroyed it. The only variable would be if the monster wasn't destroyed by a Ranger but by a rather stupid move, such as encroaching onto the territory of the Tenga Queen. He was sure his Master had programmed things that needed to be done in case such an event happened; the only problem was the time it would take for such protocols to kick in. Plus, it would answer his question of if Zedd had created the Tenga Queen's claws sharp enough to rend metal. Shaking his head once more, and briefly wondering if his head would soon drop off his neck, he rose from the tabletop screen and strode to the window that overlooked the Monster Labs; the once steaming and bubbling vats now still and dormant in their unused condition. If the strategy of sending more than one monster down worked this time, he would commission more monsters to be created to complement the ones being 'awoken'. If they won against the Rangers – that was an added bonus but if they failed…

Well, that was a bonus as well.

TBC…


	56. 55: Mega Problem

Chapter Fifty Five: Mega Problem

"Of course, many other forms of alcohol can be created without the use of wheat or grapes. One example would be vodka which is potato-based but can be made with other fruits or root vegetables. However this leads to a stronger spirit which, in turn, can lead to a stronger addiction."

Weihan stifled a yawn as the topic turned to the after-effects of alcohol addiction. Beverage Theory was one of the better subjects in the timetable, but it had its low points. One of the lower points was the class presentations they had to complete for their mid-term assessment. His double had already presented his and, from what he had 'seen' when it was re-absorbed, there was a lot of dramatic flair to the presentation. There was certainly nothing like leaping on tables and chairs to effectively demonstrate how loony someone could get while drunk and it seemed the teacher had agreed, giving him a rather high percentage due to the theatricality of what should have been a droll presentation. Unfortunately, it seemed that his actions hadn't really sunk in to the majority of the class – meaning lots and lots of stretches of boredom. Struggling to refocus his attention, he mentally chastised himself for being so detached from the information coming in but it was so easy to forget that these people around him were who he was protecting.

As a Ranger, he had made a shit load of tough decisions over the years and his morphed self had been the discussion of several hundred hours worth of talk shows. Hell, he had even watched both 'specials' on Oprah about how the Orange Ranger was both a good and bad influence to the people. It came as no real surprise that the special on the positive aspects was much shorter as he hadn't really stuck to the 'norms' when it came to being a Ranger. Whether it was threatening John Howard on the steps of Town Hall or the very public destruction of the Cathedral, there seemed to be no shortage to the negativity and vitriol the public slung at him. Even with the revelation of the reason why the Ultra Rangers weren't present with the 9/11 rescue efforts came with several murmurings of disapproval, including one prominent member of the United Nations calling for their heads on a plate for 'supporting terrorism'. However, what really struck him was how most of the hatred completely missed the other Ultra Rangers and the newer Crystal Rangers. He would have thought it as a mass brainwashing spell but he knew that, with the destruction of Dark Spectre and 'displacement' of Xonix, no evil being had the magic ability to pull off such a feat.

It was probably human nature raising its ugly head and pointing at the individual they thought was responsible for every single bad thing to happen. Tommy had groaned about being blamed as the scapegoat for everything from Terra Venture being lost in the Lost Galaxy to the highly public destruction of the Lightspeed Aquabase. Of course, it had lessened considerably as the general public was beginning to understand that not everything was the fault of the Evil Green Ranger. Unfortunately for him, they always seemed to pin the blame on him instead – even when it was for things and events not connected to the Ultra Rangers whatsoever. A small subset was starting to pin the blame on terrorists which was the better choice for most of the non-monster related afflictions the world was being plunged into. He grumbled to himself in annoyance as the strange mental echo-voice flashed in his mind for a few seconds before silently vanishing away. All the time, it was always the same message about being on Eltare and that it was the final battle and it was in the disturbingly familiar voice of Zordon. Of course, he knew that was impossible as Zordon was now in the Grid. He guessed everything would make sense in the future but he wished 'the future', as nebulously defined as that term was, would hurry up and get here. He shook his head as the student at the front finally finished her presentation on the dangers of strong spirits.

"Thank you for that presentation. I can say it was well researched and informative, although some parts seemed to go on for a bit too long without much payoff. Before we have the next speaker, I just want to remind all of you that the new premises will be ready to move into next week on Thursday, but for reasons of direction, you will have to still come to this temporary classroom until everything is sorted out."

He could have rolled his eyes but stopped just in time. Looking around the temporary class, he could easily see the other Crystal Rangers in various stages of grogginess. It was true that the last presentation had gone slightly over the ten minute mark but he guessed the timer had fallen asleep after all that droning about whether it was possible to create carrot vodka. He almost wished for a monster attack to occur, but he knew that he wouldn't be so lucky – previous events notwithstanding. As the teacher droned on and on about the move and what, if anything, they would have to do to move the equipment and salvageable desks, he found himself thinking about other things – namely the training of Bree and Olivia. Contrary to what he had overheard Bree gossiping about to Liz in the morning, he had noticed that Olivia's attire was alluring and very provocative during the rope climb. Of course, current events had prevented him for looking as much as he would have liked but he still managed to get a few glances during several 'dull' moments. He had later seen Bree instructing her on several close-quarters manoeuvres and had subsequently lost the ability to think straight for a few minutes. Luckily for him, he had been throwing 'watered-down' fireballs at the Crystal Rangers and that didn't really require much higher thought.

As the next student settled at the front of the class to speak, a shudder ran through his body. Without raising any suspicion, he slowly looked up and out the small window that overlooked the rebuilding of North Sydney. He still couldn't believe he had missed seeing one of Xonix's battleships up close but the recorded images were enough to create better strategies to counter against. While a thirty plus Zord Wave Motion Gun was good for the public to see every now and then, it wouldn't be a viable strategy to use in the middle of a heated battle. Plus, pulling it off would be nigh-impossible in the vacuum of space. A flicker of something black and large caught the edge of his vision for a split second before streaking vertically up into the sky. It almost looked like a Tenga, except those hadn't been seen this side of the Dimensional Divide since well before the Countdown. He turned back to the student as she launched into another tangent on her chosen topic.

"Too much grain fed to a duck changes its liver into foie gras but the same cannot be said for imbibing too much alcohol for everyday people."

He almost wanted to beat her over the head with a pole for pointing out the obvious and judging from the hushed groans from those around him, it was clear his wish wasn't the only one. Sighing heavily, he looked out the window once more and frowned as a glint in the sky caught his eye. Slowly turning his head, he focused his gaze on it as it became brighter and brighter. He swallowed hard as the features started to come into focus…one head, two arms, two legs and a strange pair of rather angular wings sticking out the back. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought it was the main character from that show he used to watch when he had been younger – Voltron. Its trajectory also wasn't straight down but it seemed as if it were coming closer…

Realisation struck him hard and he leapt out of his chair, grabbing his things and angling himself into a dive to the ground. The metallic creature smashed into the wall seconds later and slammed into the other side with a dying groan. Students fled out the door as Weihan crept closer to the Voltron monster. Six deep gouges ran down its chest and various fluids were leaking out of the wounds, pooling against the strange cog-like symbol of the Machine Empire.

"Weihan! You and the others are the last ones here! We need to leave, now!"

Head snapping up, he could see the lecturer at the door with wide and frantic eyes. Nodding once to the others, he made to leave when the heavily wounded monster wrapped a robotic hand around his ankle. The Orange Ranger unceremoniously fell to the ground but waved the others to go ahead of him. As the lecturer ran down the steps to the ground level, he turned back to the creature and stared at it. Its eyes blinked slowly from the mechanical visor that hung from its slightly oversized helmet and its breathing was extremely raspy and laboured. Prying his leg from the monster's grip, he noted a broken blade hanging from its left hand as well as remains of several feathers jammed in its joints.

"Ranger…"

The voice was thin and mechanical but held a tinge of desperation to it, almost as if it knew it was fading fast. The armoured mouth-plate slid aside to reveal a set of rather disturbingly human lips which were cracked and split. Summoning the Raptor Cannon to him in case the monster wasn't as injured as it was letting on, he lowered his head closer to the mouth of the monster and listened.

"My name is Vectron and I was created by the Machine Empire's Prince Sprocket to dispose of the Zeo Rangers. For reasons unknown, I was placed behind a time-seal and awoke to continue my mission. However, I accidentally crossed into the path of the Queen Tenga that was created by Lord Zedd and could not initiate the protocols needed to successfully evade. Needless to say, this will not end well for me. You must defeat the Queen Tenga quickly as the monster was sealed away due to its destructive tendencies."

Its voice trailed off and a tremor rippled through its body. Weihan looked out the hole and clearly saw a larger and bulkier Tenga flying in the direction of the CBD. Taking careful aim with his Cannon, he snapped off several shots toward the beast and swore loudly as it managed to dodge every one of them. He was about to snap off another blast when the monster spoke once more.

"Once the Tenga Queen finds a suitable building to nest in, she will breed continuously until the Tenga are the only species left on the planet. To defeat her, you need to slice off both wings, both arms and deliver a crushing blow to the base of her skull. You must defeat her for the sake of the world…"

Vectron's voice trailed off for the last time as the mechanical beast fell limp. After staring at the body for a good while to ensure it wouldn't spontaneously explode or grow, Weihan stood up and walked to the gaping hole in the wall. The Queen Tenga was nowhere to be seen and, worryingly enough, neither were Bree or Olivia. The other Crystal Rangers were circling a patchwork creature with a bag that was slung over its shoulder and he sighed in frustration.

It was going to be another long day…

TBC…

AN: Info here may or may not be relevant anymore. Been a long time since I was in Beverage Theory.


	57. 56: Rangernapped

Chapter Fifty Six: Rangernapped

"Is he going to be all right?"

Bree nodded briskly at the rather oblivious lecturer and fought against the urge to look over her shoulder. Weihan was alone in a room with a monster. She didn't know what condition it was in, but it looked like it was on its last legs. If it exploded then he would be practically incinerated…though she doubted he would be caught off guard by something as mundane as an exploding monster. Briefly pausing to wonder how in the world the thought of an exploding monster could be thought of as 'mundane', she pushed open the door that led to the outside world…and stopped dead in her tracks.

"Well, what do we have here?"

The constantly changing voice that came from the creature seemed fitting in a way. The Frankenstein's monster look-alike certainly looked the part of a frightening force of nature and the large sack that was slung over one shoulder didn't detract from its appearance. For the part of the lecturer and most of the people around the temporary classrooms, they scattered like sand in the wind as the creature stepped towards them. Only the Crystal Rangers, Bree and Olivia – who was just exiting from the side – stood their ground. Weihan was still in the classroom with the monster and who knew what was being done inside? Liz wasn't worried though; she knew the Orange Ranger could easily handle himself against an injured monster. She glanced around them for onlookers and intact cameras before nodding slowly. As if galvanised into action with that one gesture, the Crystal Rangers flicked their left wrists in unison as their Morphers formed. Thunder rumbled overhead, although there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Surprised by this sudden turn of events, Sancter unshouldered his bag and opened the top as the seven Ranger in front of him were enveloped in energy cocoons that seemed to give the appearance of crystal. He had to shout to be heard over the noise of energy, his voice directed at the two females near the door.

"You two will be my leverage!"

Untying the string around the top of the bag, he pointed the opening towards the females and grinned wickedly as the magic inherent in the bag did its work. As he wouldn't be using them for sustenance, he would place them in what one of his captives had called the 'freak show'. The only downside to that strategy was the holding 'cell', as it were, was located dangerously close to the magic crystal that made his bag work. Only a focused energy attack would destroy it but he seriously doubted the girl could call on her powers at will. As the energy cocoons shattered, the seven Crystal Rangers prepared to shout their team name, as was the 'traditional' thing to do, when Liz stopped in shock. She had heard the monster's threat during the morph but had expected him to wait until they had finished before acting. It seemed that wasn't the case. She leapt towards the open bag, but slammed into the concrete pavement as the creature closed its bag.

"Aw, little Ranger…did I take your friends? Don't worry; you'll be seeing them soon in the company of death!"

Summoning their weapons, the Crystal Rangers fanned out to encircle the monster as orange blasts shot out of the hole in the building. The monster flinched slightly, but relaxed as none of the lasers were directed at him. Sancter took one eye off the Rangers to look towards the area across the iron bridge and saw nothing. He wasn't concerned as he had more pressing things to worry about. He had earlier seen an avian creature rip and tear into the mechanical monster with a ferocity that bordered on psychotic and had carefully skirted around the area. If the Rangers couldn't defeat the monster, maybe he could capture it for some of the more…eccentric collectors in the Universe. Well, that was something to think about once he managed to get off the planet. Holding the bag up like a shield, he turned to see one last human come from the building and pause at the entrance. Recollecting the image from what Jabarkas had shown him earlier, he knew it to be the Orange Ultra Ranger. Flames burst from the palms of the boy and Sancter unconsciously took a step back…before composing himself.

"Rangers, you find yourself at a disadvantage. You cannot attack me without hitting the bag that holds your friends…but I do not have that limitation."

To prove his point, he lifted his right hand and flicked it to the right. Three stitches popped open and two bursts of energy impacted against the chest armour of the Emerald Dragon Ranger. The female staggered back, holding her right hand to the damaged portion of her armour in shock, as the Ivory Tiger Ranger looked to the Orange one for help and assistance. Sancter knew that, tactically speaking, he had the high ground as the Rangers wouldn't dare to kill two of their friends…but on the other hand; he had been around long enough to see that, sometimes, heroes had to do what was necessary to take care of the bigger threat. As the first drops of fluid began to drip from the open seam on his hand, he looked up at the emotionless visors of the Rangers – daring them to make the first move.

"What do we do? We can't attack or we risk hitting the bag. That thing can attack us at will, so we need a strategy."

Weihan shook his head and looked in the direction he had seen the Queen Tenga fly in. He was at a crossroads and didn't know what choice would be the best. On one hand, Bree and Olivia were important people to the future strengthening of the Rangers. If Bree died…well, there would be no getting AJ back into his life ever. Olivia's death would also have unforseen repercussions but he doubted they would be as strong as Bree's death. On the other hand, the Queen Tenga was more than likely setting up her nest right now in one of the office buildings in the CBD. Having vivid memories of the Oozemen invasion of Sydney, he had no intention on finding out what a Tenga invasion would look like. Casting a pained look at the monster's bag, he slowly shook his head.

"I can't be with you here. The monster that crashed into the building told me of the monster that attacked it. That monster has the potential to be worse than the creature. I hate to say it, I really do, but my place is hunting down the Tenga Queen."

As she stared down the monster once more, Liz nodded in resignation. No matter how much they needed help against the monster that held Bree and Olivia's lives in his hands, the Tenga Queen – whatever that was – sounded like it would be worse news for everyone. Weihan didn't need her permission to leave, and he knew it, but was informing them of his location…just in case he needed backup. She inclined her head as a confirmation and he nodded back as he was enveloped in a dazzling orange teleportation beam. Twirling her Ivory Spear once more, she looked at the wickedly grinning creature in front of them and shook her head in slight frustration.

This wasn't going to be fun.

TBC…


	58. 57: Powers Unleashed

AN: Am going on holiday for 2 weeks, so this is the last chapter until I come back! Enjoy!

Chapter Fifty Seven: Powers Unleashed

"What the fuck was that?"

Bree shook her head and tried to regain her sense of bearing, something that was made slightly harder by the rhythmic undulations of the fleshy walls. The ground felt sticky under her palms and moved in and out…almost as if it was breathing. Olivia was next to her, the Australian-Italian woman looking around with a mixture of curiousity and utter revulsion on her features. Small worm-like creatures slithered over the walls and vanished into small cracks and crevices that opened up. Carefully moving on her hands and knees to the closest wall, Bree lifted her right hand and pressed it against the surface. Instantly, she was able to hear everything that was on the outside – the shocked shouts of her friends and the overdramatic boasting of the monster. Her mouth fell open and her voice, though quiet, was filled with shock.

"We're being used as a shield."

The ground moved under their feet as if the holder of the bag had slung it over its shoulder. For all Bree knew, the monster had slung the bag around and was protecting that contents inside. They needed a way out…except the only people who could free them were busy trying to hit the monster without hitting the bag. Even on the lowest power setting, the weapons of the Crystal Rangers could still pack a punch. She had no idea how they could land a blow on the creature without it moving the bag in the way but she was sure they would do everything in their power to get them out safely. At least, that was her hope. Reaching into her jacket, she withdrew her pen and experimentally stabbed the wall in front of them.

"What are you doing? That won't be enough!"

Blocking out Olivia's shouts, Bree stabbed and slashed at the wall as hard as she could to see if a hole could be made. A few times, she was rewarded with a tiny pinprick of light that showed her sneak peeks of the outside world, but these were swiftly covered by the semi-organic material that made up the room. Somehow, the small victories made her pound and stab the material harder and harder and, slowly, her grunts of frustration and exertion became slightly more arousing and orgasmic. Olivia swallowed hard at the grunts of her student and tried to peel her eyes from the young girl, thinking of anything she could to stop her from joining in with the lust-filled groans. The moths, the deaths, the bodies stripped bare of their flesh and the crime scene photographs…swallowing back the bile that was creeping up the back of her throat, the teacher took in a deep breath. Reaching for the small bottle of water she always kept in her jackets inside pocket, she unscrewed the cap and, with barely a moment's hesitation, tipped the remainder of the water over her head. As the coolness of the liquid shocked the girl out of her heated state, Olivia took a few moments to look closer at the room to see what had been missed on the first, panicked, look.

Nothing had changed and everything was pretty much the same, however there was a crack in the ceiling that almost looked like the barely-closed seam of a bag. Squinting through the semi-darkness, she could see a sliver of light and, maybe, a flash of clear blue sky. There was nothing in her pockets that could have lent to their escape and she didn't really want to be caught under the thrall of whatever aphrodisiac pseudo-immune system the bag had. A sharp jerk to the left sent the two women crashing to the ground once more and faint laughing could be heard overhead. Olivia's head smacked against the side of the wall, revealing a small opening that didn't seem to be healing itself. Hanging from the lowest end on the opening was a curved blade of some sort with some sort of electronic communication log attached to it. Reaching out with a free hand, she grabbed the communication log and pulled it free of the wall – blade and all. As expected, the wall began 'healing' itself, but at a much slower pace…almost as if it was wounded.

"What is that? And why am I wet?"

Ignoring the double entendre, Olivia shook her head slowly and looked at the strange device. Although she had seen the consoles in the Ultra Cavern, the technology in the log was of a completely different nature. The metal was hard, yet could be bent out of place by applying the barest hint of pressure. The lights blinked on and off slowly and seemed to move under the clear domes that covered them. Even the screen seemed to be slightly warped. Sighing, she turned the device around to examine the weapon. If she didn't know better, she would have said it was a hook or a claw of some sort. A glance up to the wall revealed that the opening had almost completely healed, yet she could see another source of light from the 'outside'. Not wanting to miss the chance, she scooted closer to the wall and peered out into an inky black expanse…with a slowly spinning crystal hanging in the middle. Small sparkles of white and yellow energy erupted from the surface every few seconds. Pulling back from the opening, she looked down at the weapon attached to the device and tried to pull it off.

"Log of Vrak the Betrayed, Day thirty five of capture."

The voice that came from the device was deep and gravelly, but held the barest touch of kindness. Looking at the scree, the two girls saw an alien face staring out. Whatever it was, it looked almost like Jabarkas but slightly less mature. The spikes on the 'corners' of its face curved upwards and gave the impression of a ceremonial shield Bree had seen in an old issue of National Geographic. There also seemed to be a slight delay in the vocalisation…almost as if the device was translating the native tongue of the alien into English.

"No sign of exit and the walls…they emit a strange substance that causes uncontrollable lust. What use this would be is unknown to me at this time, yet I fear I will never know the reason. We are nearing the rendezvous point of the Tibrya Sector, so my time grows short. As I have said previously, I was framed for the accident that cost the former Queen her life and the evidence was planted on me by what I thought was a trusted friend. Sancter…the feared bounty hunter captured me on the outskirts of the Recaxat Plains and is brining me to face a swift execution. If you are unlucky enough to see this, then you have been captured and placed in the same holding cell. Be glad you were not placed in the feeding bags. The things I have heard over the past few days, I will surely take to my grave."

"What is that? A log of what…his death?"

Bree shook her head and plucked the device from Olivia's hands, careful to not cut herself on the blade. She still didn't know what had come over her, besides Olivia's water, but she didn't want to have the same experience once more. Now that she knew the effect was to drive people into a powerful lust, it would be extremely dangerous if both of them fell under the effects. She looked at her hands and wondered exactly what she had to do to unleash the energy that had saved her life during the invasion. It had seemed like an instinctive thing…but she needed to either recreate the events or proceed step-by-step until she knew for sure. Closing her eyes, she allowed the alien's voice to wash over her as she tried to find the creatures hidden within her.

"I am sure you have found the weapon attached to this log. I have found it to be the only thing in my arsenal that can slice through the walls with little consequence. Alas, I have found it too late for it to be of any use to me. I can only offer one piece of advice for those unlucky enough to find themselves here: directly outside the holding room is the Power Crystal that provides the energy for all of the functions of the bag. My scanners have deduced that a very high and concentrated energy blast will be able to shatter the Crystal and remove the bag from existence. The resulting energy backlash will heavily weaken Sancter as well."

The alien on screen seemed to sigh heavily as the walls shook once. Placing its head in a seven-fingered hand, the creature shook its head slowly before resuming his speech. Despite the hand covering its mouth, its voice was unmuffled.

"I am truly sorry if you have discovered this message and you are not in the company of the Power Rangers. My weapons cannot match the intensity needed. I…I intend to end this before he reaches the point of no return. Some may see it as cowardly, but I see it as my only way out of this tragedy my life has become. I will attach the weapon to the recorder and stab it into the wall. Please, end this menace for good and may the spirit of Zordon watch over you."

The screen filled with static and winked out. Shaking her head, Olivia picked the recorder up from the ground and stabbed the weapon into the wall, much as she imagined the unnamed alien to have done. The blade effortlessly sliced through the thick walls and she tugged down hard. Unsurprisingly, slicing down was much harder than the initial stabbing had been and she glanced over her shoulder to see if Bree could help her. What she saw surprised her greatly. The young girl was hovering in mid-air, eyes closed and arms crossed over her breasts. The small droplets of water that had clung to her hair and skin had lifted off her body and were rotating around her; giving the appearance that she was shielding herself with the water. A shimmer of red and silver energy surrounded her and Olivia could see flashes of purple light. Turning back to the fresh opening in the wall, she began pulling the blade down to get it as wide as she could before Bree exploded.

Inside the whirling maelstrom of water, Bree was remarkably calm – despite the beings in front of her. Thanks to her knowledge of relatively obscure dinosaurs, brought about by a strange comment by Rocky regarding the Utahraptor Dinozord, she had identified the creatures that she had seen as energy representations. The larger carnivore was the Arctic theropod Cryolophosaurus, complete with its iconic and distinctive head crest. The purple and red dinosaur seemed to nod once in approval before moving back to reveal the other creature, the one she had struggled to identify the first time. It was the North American ceratopsid Pachyrhinosaurus, the silver and green beast giving the human before it gave her a stare that held a slight tinge of contempt. Only when the Cryolophosaurus nudges its side with its tail did the herbivore relent, giving the impression of a smile. The carnivore opened its mouth and 'spoke' to her in a booming voice.

"Bree Apple, we, the Dualsaurs, have chosen you to be the first of the Ranger Sentinels. Use this power wisely and follow the lead of your Elder Rangers."

The Cryolophosaur nodded one last time before turning into energy and sliding into her body. A sharp jolt of power and energy flowed through her and she felt strong enough to take on the world. Watching on the sidelines, the ceratopsian shook its head once and spoke in a distinctly feminine voice.

"Do not worry, young one. You will be a strong Ranger in time. Our power is yours."

Bree opened her eyes slowly as the voice faded from her ears and looked at her body. Or, more accurately, the glowing light that her body seemed to have become. She couldn't morph without a Morpher but she could access the powers granted to her. Cracking her knuckles as her feet touched the ground, she grinned wickedly and stepped forward.

It was time to end this.

TBC…


	59. 58: The First Stroke

AN: And we're back! I have the first chapter of a spin-off tale all written up and that will be posted as soon as the 'trigger point' is reached. Not long now…

Chapter Fifty Eight: The First Stroke

"What exactly are we looking for?"

Weihan shook his head and stared at the skyscrapers on the skyline. He had quickly learnt that searching every single building on his own was an exercise in insanity, particularly as Vectron had informed him that the Tenga Queen would be pumping out drones from the moment she set up shop. Dismissing the idea to call the Crystal Rangers right off the bat, his thoughts turned to the other Ultra Rangers who, he knew, were itching for more action. Not all of them had been available and, while it was still a pain in the ass, he accepted that. The ones that hadn't been available were Eliza, Will, Linda and Rachelle. He wasn't too concerned about the girls, as their reasons revolved around spending time with their significant others or their family or, in the case of Rachelle, not really wanting to be in close contact with him for a while. Will's decline worried him as he sensed that things were not right in the world of the young British man. Well, whatever the case was with the White Ranger, it would have to wait.

"Look for something out of the ordinary on the tall buildings. Something that could suggest a seven-foot, giant bird is roosting there."

Looking back at the skyscrapers, Alex raised an eyebrow but chose to keep silent. There was something that was bothering his friend, more so than the threat of another creature invasion, but to dwell on that now would be insanity at best. Bringing up his HUD, he scanned the city for any strange energy fluctuations. He sighed as he flicked on the filters that would stream out the false positives from the mobile phone and Wi-Fi signals that were starting to become more and more frequent. He had no doubt in his mind that everyone and their dog would have a mobile phone and be plugged in to the Internet 24/7 in the coming years. How this would affect the plans of those threatening the planet, he hadn't the slightest. They would come up with strategies, of course, but he hoped they didn't involve digitising their monsters and minions into cyberspace – or whatever representation of cyberspace that was there. He had no intention of being attacked by a monster version of a porn site, no matter how interesting that would be.

"What about a giant, black bird nest on top of the AMP building?"

Looking over to where Heather was pointing, Weihan saw – quite clearly – the twisted structure that was perched on top of the AMP tower in Circular Quay. The fact that it was so large and he hadn't spotted it was slightly amusing to him. He shook his head and nodded as the not-so quiet giggles came from the other Rangers. Resisting the urge to bash his helmet against one of the nearby trees, he sighed and put as much self-deprecation into his voice as possible.

"I need to get my eyes checked…again."

Of course, that wasn't necessary as the massive power boost he had gotten from the addition to his Battlizer had practically given him near-perfect sight. The glasses that were perched on his face were of a much lower power than the ones he had worn in High School had been and, sometimes, he didn't even wear them. On the other hand, he still needed to keep up appearances and he had expressed his dislike of wearing contacts, so that excuse wasn't even a viable one. Maybe, one day, he would stop wearing them and say he caved and got laser surgery but that was for the future him to decide. Checking himself once more, he rose from his crouched position and steeled himself. He wasn't exactly sure how long or how far the jets in his Assault Armour would take him, but he had seen the footage of the others in their battle with the battleship and knew he would be safe from falling into the water. Then again, he had already done that a while ago anyway. Noticing the shift in attitude, the others took notice and began their pre-flight preparations.

He wondered what the best way to attack the situation would be. He would need at least two or three Rangers with him at all times to deal the attacks needed for the monster to be destroyed. The others would be fanned out throughout the building to deal with any drones that had been spawned or, in the utmost worst case scenario, to deal with any humans that were being controlled. He doubted the monster could actually control humans but he didn't have time to snap off a call to Edward and Rita to see what they remembered about it. Taking in a deep and slow breath, he activated his jets.

"Whoa! Shit! How the fuck do you steer this thing?"

In hindsight, he should have practised on the Simul-Deck. That wouldn't have made much of a difference, but it would have allowed him to recall what to do quicker. And it would have curbed his flailing and screaming as his mind yelled obscenities at him. He was sure the others were snickering under their helmets but he didn't really care. In fact, all he cared about was keeping himself above the water and keeping his speed low enough that he wouldn't go straight through the building he was aiming at. Aim…yes, that was another thing he needed to do and he would be aiming himself just right once the side jets on his feet were activated. A light jerk on his ankles was all the warning he received before his crazed jaunt across the harbour stopped. Breathing heavily, the Orange Ranger looked down at his blurry reflection in the water and slowly shook his head as a ferry passed behind him.

"OK…let's try that one more time."

Fortunately, the second flight was much smoother than the first and he was able to make the rest of the journey without too much hassle. As the soles of his boots touched the paved tiles of Circular Quay, he disengaged the Assault Armour and breathed a short sigh of relief. Hearing the other Rangers land behind him, he looked over his shoulder and opened his mouth. He needed them to understand what they were facing…if the steady stream of terrified civilians streaming out of the building didn't already clue them in. However, the first words died on his lips as he saw a column of light rising up from the North Sydney area. His stomach tightened in his chest and he swallowed hard. He hoped the Rangers hadn't made a mistake in their attacks and destroyed the bag with the monster but as he turned his body to look without wrenching his head, he saw that his fears had been unfounded.

The column of light lasted only a few more seconds but he swore he could feel immense power radiating from it. Dialling in the radio frequency of the Crystal Rangers, he could hear their excited chatter over something that was apparently happening very close to the battle site. If he didn't know any better, he would have said the Sentinels – or whatever their name was – were very close to unlocking their full powers. That meant he needed to get a wriggle on creating the Morphers or, at the very least, putting in an order of Universal Steel with Divatox. The Prophecy or whatever it was had stated that the Powers would come when all three were joined, but many talks with Ninjor had taught him that powers didn't always come with Morphers attached. However, that feeling didn't last long as there was a strange echoing sound that reached his ears as the head of the monster rose over the skyline of North Sydney. Even from the distance he was at, he could see the creature hadn't recovered from the damage dealt by its destruction and it was missing its bag. As the others made a move to call their Zords, he shook his head sharply.

"They can do it. We have our own problem to deal with."

As the others reluctantly lowered their hands, Weihan turned back to the entrance of the building. The last few civilians were still coming out of the entrance and he jogged towards them. Behind him, he could hear the startled gasps, thumping feet and bestial roars as the Crystal Rangers summoned their Crystal Dinozords. Accessing the Zord Uplink, he placed the 'Ultra' version of Titanus on the same 'Power Track' as Liz and sent the Ivory Ranger a quick message informing her. Dismissing her reply, he looked around the faces of the employees and tried to ignore their awed looks. He was about to ask what was happening inside when an older man struggled to the front of the crowd, rivulets of sweat running down his face. His greying hair was messy from his rather sudden exit from the building, but his voice betrayed none of the physical and mental exhaustion he must have been feeling.

"There are things in the building. Whatever is on the roof has quickly constructed its nest but it must be able to breed quickly as strange bipedal birds started coming out of the fire escape. We managed to fight them off and escape but…"

The man looked worriedly at the building and the Orange Ranger felt his stomach drop. A look like that could only mean one thing…and it was confirmed by the man's next words.

"There are still people in there."

TBC


	60. 59: Clean Stroke

Chapter Fifty Nine: Clean Stroke

"Why couldn't we take the lift?"

Weihan shook his head as Alex's protests were heard behind him. The Black/Green Ranger knew that the lift had been disabled during the emergency evacuation and that the people in the cars were relatively safe…as long as they didn't try anything stupid. Judging from the sounds coming from a few lift shafts, he doubted anything stupid was being done and he hoped the internal security cameras had been turned off. The last thing anyone needed to see were sweaty and desperate businessmen having sex with their young and nubile secretaries. Forcing that image out of his mind, he returned to the task at hand. From what he had gained from the man, there were at least twenty people still on various floors, not counting the twelve scattered around in the various lifts. That meant twenty people that could, hypothetically, be taken over by whatever mental faculties the Tenga Queen had in store. However, he doubted anything else could be stuffed in the small brain of a Tenga besides death and destruction.

He had made the decision for them to climb to the roof via the stairs...which was actually the only choice that could have been taken. The team had been split into three teams that would search floors for Tengas and any remaining civilians. If one or more of the civilians were being controlled, the Rangers were to lock them in a closet or room until the Tenga Queen could be destroyed. All in all, that wasn't the best situation to be in, but it was the only one to readily come to mind. The two Sarah's had begun their search on the bottom few floors and they would stop their search on floor 10. They had encountered some Tenga resistance but most of the civilians they had come across hadn't been controlled in any way, shape or form that was recognisable. Floors 11 to 25 were being done by Aimee, Heather and Paris. The Yellow, Pink and Red Rangers had encountered higher levels of resistance from slightly stronger Tengas and, based on the sounds coming from the blocked and barricaded fire doors; it was going to get worse.

The last five floors were going to be cleared by himself, Alex and Rebecca. The Brown Ranger had her Spike Cannon summoned and was aiming it at the door her Spike Defender was also activated in its secondary shielding mode. Neither Ranger was sure what it would do but if the offensive mode was any indication…well, he wouldn't be eating chicken satay for a while. Alex had summoned his Blizzard Axe, but the Ranger had hung it from his belt for easy access. Of course, thinking about the words 'easy access' made his mind go to other places, on a mission like this, he couldn't lose focus for any amount of time. Dropping his hand to brush against his Raptor Laser that hung from his belt, he paused at the door emblazoned with 26. He ran through the plan as he waited for the others to catch up. Around fifty minutes had passed since they had landed outside the building and he had no idea how strong the army surrounding the Tenga Queen had become. Steeling himself or a fight, he braced his body against the railing and kicked to door down, knocking over several Tengas that had been behind it.

Leaping over their injured bodies, he drew his Sabre and slashed at the three bird grunts that dropped from the ceiling. The enchanted blade passed through their bodies like a hot knife through butter and the creatures fell to the ground in two, rather neat, pieces. The only lights on the floor were from the computer monitors that were still switched on, the bright white light illuminating the halls with a slightly nightmarish effect. Making a mental note to never blind himself with his computer monitor again, he scanned the room and spied the fire door on the other side of a glass wall. The other Rangers ran through the door, just as the Tengas attacked en masse. Feathers, talons and beaks filled his vision as every step became a struggle against the relentless horde of Tengas. As they were used to the unpredictability of Golems, Fiends and whatever grunts encountered in Equestria; the almost mechanical precision of the Tengas threw them slightly. Leaping over the heads of the lead pack, he drew his Laser and rained fiery bolts onto the birds. The energy flash-fried their heads and charred the flesh underneath, causing him to make a mental note not to eat chicken for the immediate future. Crescents of freezing energy blasted by his body, close enough to chill his skin through the armour, and smashed into the quartet that were charging toward him. He could hear Rebecca's Spike Cannon firing semi-wildly, the deep thumps forming somewhat of a melody with the high-pitched swings of the Blizzard Axe. He imagined he could hear a song forming but had to duck as a duo of new birds flew at him.

Whatever they were, they looked much stronger than the normal Tengas around them. A light blue crest rose from the backs of their heads and fanned out to end in two prongs. Their arms ended in the same five-fingered hand that was tipped with jet-back talons and their beaks had the same hooked tip as the others. However, their chests were adorned with armour that chilled the three Rangers to their core. The shape was the same as on the Tengas that Zedd had summoned to battle the Rangers on a daily basis and 'hit' all the right notes…except the material it was made of. Whereas the 'original' Tengas, and even Ivan's Tengu Warriors, had armour that seemed to be made from some sort of dark blue or purple metal, the duo in front of him had armour that seemed slightly more irregular. Hard and round nubs protruded from rather odd angles and he could see a sort of reddish sheen covering the thick slats. Weihan would later swear that he could see a dull whiteness flashing through; something that, all things considered, really should have tipped him off sooner. As it was, all he could think about was how brutal it must have been for the Tengas to be wearing the bones of their fallen comrades as macabre armour.

The first one lunged at him and he jerked back a second too late; its claws raking sparks over his chest plate. Glancing down quickly, he saw his armour repairing four shallow gouges. As the same Tenga lunged again, he swung his Sabre up and over his head, bringing the blade down on the back of its neck. The blade smashed against something hard and bounced off with a sound that was akin to shattering pottery. He felt a burning sensation on his chest for a split second before his back slammed hard into the wall at the end of the hall. Picking himself up off the carpeted floor, he realised he had forgotten all about the second Tenga. He could still hear the yells and grunts of Alex and Rebecca as they carved up the grunts around them; yet, he couldn't see where the duo had gone to. Snapping on the low-light overlay, he scanned the room and threw fireballs at any normal Tenga that came too close. He had to be careful that nothing was set on fire as the sprinklers would be turned on and that would add a new layer of toughness to the battle.

"Head's up!"

Ducking at the sudden shout from Alex, the Orange Ranger heard a cracking noise above his head. He looked up to see the two Tenga 'Guards' were removing their claws from the plasterboard wall. Seeing an opportunity, the Ranger channelled fire into the blade and brought it up in a similar slashing motion. The two guards shrieked in pain and fear as their hands were severed at the wrists, but they could still fight despite the loss. Weihan rolled out of the way as the Tengas' feet slammed into the wall where his head had been and he dismissed his Sabre in a burst of sparks. He unhooked his Raptor Laser and converted it into the laser blade, holding it out in front of him like a burning brand. The declawed Tengas stared at it uncertainly, as if to ascertain what it could do. After a few more moments of looking, one of them spread its arms and leapt into the air. Weihan's response was immediate and completely on instinct. He fell back onto the ground and thrust the blade up through the Tenga's chest and used its momentum against it. The creature let out a squawk of surprise before the light left its eyes and it crashed over a desk, dead.

Confidence boosted by his narrow victory, Weihan pushed himself off the ground…just in time to take the full force of a flying drop kick delivered by the remaining Tenga Guard. Warnings flashed across his HUD as the system struggled to repair the damaged sections. Pushing more power into his armour from the Ultra Grid, the Orange Ranger shook himself off and raised his arms to defend against three hovering kicks. Pain raced up his arms as the blows landed and he staggered back, nearly tripping over a nearby computer tower. Dropping to the ground, the Ranger kicked his right leg up to intercept the fourth, and final, kick in the attack. He stifled a shout as he felt the talons pierce through his armour and dig into his flesh, fighting through the pain to kick the bird monster in the chest. The Tenga Guard ran off and he grunted in muted agony as the Power worked to heal his injury. A few seconds later and he could stand on the foot as if nothing had happened, yet he knew it would add another scar to his leg. The old excuse of 'out of control mosquito bites' was getting a bit hard to maintain but it allowed him more leeway than he thought.

Sending a wave of smokeless flame down the hall in front of him, he groped along the wall until he found the light switch. Switching off the overlay, he flicked the switch and waited a few seconds for fluorescent light to flood the room. After his eyes adjusted to the change in light level, he looked around the office to see what the situation was. The majority of the Tengas that had greeted them were scattered around the two battling Rangers or draped on desks, computers and even a pot plant. The Tenga Guard that had been bisected was slightly twitching as the last of its nerves fired and he could clearly see what its armour was made of. He looked away quickly, but the image was seared into his brain.

The armour was made of human bone.

Swallowing hard, he pushed fire into his palms until they were blazing light blue. Muttering a curse under his breath, he unleashed the charged energy at the macabre sight, vaporising both Tenga and the desk it lay on within milliseconds. Drawing his Raptor Sabre, he looked behind him once more at the two Rangers before setting off to look for the remaining Tenga Guard. He knew that when they finished fighting the Tengas surrounding them, they would follow him. Snapping the overlay on once again, he opened a floor-to-ceiling glass door and stepped out into a darkened room…filled with cubicles. Taking a second to marvel at the cramped working conditions of the office, he shook his head in amusement and picked an aisle at random. He was expecting an attack and, much as he had predicted, the Tengas didn't disappoint. The first one that flew out of the darkness at him was rewarded by a flaming strike that all but ripped its head off and the second one was greeted by a stomach full of fire.

Brushing the feathers off his armour, the Orange Ranger continued deeper into the office. Apparently the occupants had more time to switch off their computer monitors as out of the twenty or so he could see; only around three were still on. Batting away a Tenga with the flat side of his blade, he stabbed its throat and peered at them. Two of them, unsurprisingly enough, displayed word processors and Excel spreadsheets containing a multitude of graphs, numbers and other…interesting things. He could feel his brain shutting down but snapped out of his boredom as a Tenga leapt out of the darkness. A quick slash-and-burn later and he looked for the third monitor to see what was on it. Unfortunately, it was too far away for him to see and he wasn't going to leap over several cubicles to get a better look.

Moving on, he found himself being attacked at all sides by a seemingly never-ending stream of Tengas. He saw darkness encroaching on the edges of his vision as he fell into the zone of battle. A Tenga cawed in pain as its arm was severed at the shoulder, only to screech in agony as it exploded from the inside. Another Tenga managed to score several blows to his chest armour with its beak before it was savagely ripped off. As the damage from that attack repaired, he was knocked to the ground by an attack from behind. Rolling onto his back, he blasted a stream of fire at the Tenga and kicked its burning body away. Leaping into the air, Weihan bisected another five Tengas and noted, with some small degree of alarm, that their numbers were increasing steadily. He hoped the others were having better luck than he was but, judging from the sounds he had been hearing on their open radio, he doubted it.

"Where are they coming from? The ceiling?"

"Aimee, duck! Fire Smasher!"

"Venom Blast! We can't let these things get outside!"

As he had thought, he didn't think they were having better luck. On the other hand, the number of Tengas in the lower levels would be steadily dropping as the Ultra Rangers fought their way to the top of their respective floors; yet, there was always the concern that they would run into slightly traumatised employees. Apart from a few instances, they had yet to find the remainder of the seventeen or so employees in the building…that weren't otherwise occupied in the lifts. He didn't want to know what the aftermath of that would be, nor did he care. It wasn't as if it would come back to bite him in the ass later in his life. Rolling back to avoid the strikes of four Tengas that had popped up out of nowhere, he rolled against a wall and blasted their legs with a white-hot jet of flame. That the carpet didn't catch fire was the only surprising thing as he could see the plastic fibres – or whatever the carpet was made of – melting. Clicking on that air filter in his helmet, he stood up and looked around the office.

There were still Tengas lurking in the shadows of the flickering flames. He could also see the heavy fire-door at the end of the room and, for the billionth time, wondered what the architects had been smoking when they designed the building. Unlike the relatively linear fire escape they had come up in, access to the upper levels was done by a set of enclosed secondary fire stairs, with doors at opposing ends of the building. This design quirk was why Aimee, Heather and Paris had more than ten floors to search through as the design started on the eleventh floor. Indeed, if they had continued up the fire escape, they would have been stuck at the top with no way to reach the outside and, even if they had blasted through the walls, they would have had to contend with a steep drop down. Shaking the aching out of his limbs, he rested his Raptor Sabre on his right shoulder and let out a slow breath. His tunnel vision was starting to fade, but he needed the 'Zone' to make it to the door. Shifting his weight, he began to run towards the door.

As if realising their prey was getting away from them, the Tenga drones began attacking with greater ferocity; some of them even jumping straight into his body. His Sabre flashed in the dim lighting and the bodies of the attacking Tengas flew apart in a glorious blaze of feathers, fire and sparks. There was nothing in front of him but the next opponent and nothing behind him except the trail of charred and dismembered bodies. Whatever survived his blade was either roasted by fire or was running straight into the deadly attacks of Alex and Rebecca. His eyes looked around him for the remaining Tenga Guard and he saw it out of the corner of his eye. Activating the Laser Whip, he cracked it over the heads of the surrounding grunts, sending fiery energy coursing through their bodies. Drawing back his arm once more, he knocked back a Tenga that was coming too close before letting the weapon fly through the air once again. He watched the laser 'cord' whip around the neck of the Tenga, just above the collar of its armour, and he yanked the handle hard. A high pitched buzzing filled the air and the remaining Tenga Guard fell one way…and its head fell the other.

Weihan had only a brief moment of pause before the crown surged around him once more. Glancing upward, he saw that the birds were coming from the space above the ceiling and he kicked himself for not realising it sooner. Concentrating his fire energy into three white-hot balls, he flung them at the ripped-off air vent cover. Pained shrieks coupled with the smell of burning feathers informed him that, for now at least, the tide had turned. Pushing all thoughts out of his mind, he raised his blade once more and went to work. Bodies flew around him once more as he experimented with various new techniques. The spikes on his shoulders were tougher and more durable than they looked and, based on the shouts of dying Tengas, sharper. He arms and blade was a blur of energy and motion as he inched closer and closer to the fire door. And then it happened.

A blur of movement and motion caught his eye, leaping out from a cubicle and covered with the same black and blue feathers the Tenga had. He should have seen the body shape, that it was all wrong from the other Tengas. He should have seen the skin tone that was peeking out from the poorly glued and sticky-taped on feathers. The lack of beak and squawk should have clued him in…yet all of these realisations happened too late. He reacted as the shadow opened its arms in what was supposed to be a gesture of relief at finally being rescued…

And sliced straight through the woman.

TBC…


	61. 60: Crystal Ultimus

AN: No, I haven't forgotten Rangers of Equestria and I have something big coming on the horizon. A few more chapters and then it's back to Equestria!

Chapter Sixty: Crystal Ultimus

"What's happening to it?"

Liz slowly shook her head as the monster shuddered again. They had been attempting to attack the monster but it would retaliate by swinging the bag that held Bree and Olivia in the path of the attack, forcing the attacker to pull their swing at the last second. This had the added effect in tiring them out, while the monster was able to rest and 'attack' without tiring itself out. Even an attack from behind the beast was guarded against by the quick movements of the monster. Liz had been internally debating whether an attack from directly above would work and was in the initial planning stages with Phoebe when the monster had begun acting almost like it was injured.

Sparks began flying from the small opening of the bag and there seemed to be a strange red and purple light that pulsed slowly. Her first thought was that Bree had finally tapped into those powers that she had been talking about before, but that was impossible. All three needed to be present in the same room for them to be activated; at least, that was what she remembered anyway. She scanned the battlefield on a sudden impulse as the monster started mumbling to itself. She tried to block out most of the words, but a few sentences jumped out at her.

"Vrak's legacy….I should have known the fool would try something like this. I should have killed you when I had the chance instead of listening to the employer. You're probably laughing at this but I will have the last laugh!"

Liz blocked her eyes with her right arm as light and energy began pouring out of the bag's opening, soon swallowing up the monster within seconds. As the Crystal Rangers backed away from the destructive energy, the Ivory Ranger scanned the battleground one last time. Judging from the energy output being recorded by her scanners, a single 'Ranger Sentinel' couldn't generate this type of power by herself. Of course, that was just pure speculation on her part as the only Rangers she had to compare were the other Crystal Rangers and the Ultra Rangers. Shaking her head to clear those thoughts, she looked back to the disintegrating monster…only to see a bright burst of light heading towards one of the miscellaneous piles of rubble that had formed from the partially destroyed building.

Something akin to a startled shout reached her ears a split second before she saw the tall form of Shannon Frew diving out from behind the pile of rubble. The look on her face told Liz that she had seen and heard everything from when the battle had commenced…including their identities. The look on the blonde's face was one of quiet panic mixed with a certain serenity that would possibly come with imminent death. However, that was not to be the case. Like she had seen in the 'other world', leathery wings extended from her back to deflect the energy burst. Unlike the other Shannon, the wings didn't immediately dissipate and stayed in front of the girl for what seemed like an extraordinarily long period of time. With the screams of the monster becoming fainter and fainter, Liz took a step towards her, raising her Ivory Spear in case she had to defend herself.

_Patience, child. I will not harm you._

The voice rang through her mind almost as clear as Weihan's own, yet it sounded like a freight train given voice. The deep bass rumble was both comforting and terrifying and she swore she could hear a crackle of sorts at the edges, almost like the white noise at the beginning of a vinyl record. Whatever it was, it gave the impression of great age and boundless wisdom. She could see the others looking around in confusion as the voice continued to rumble out, seemingly from the shocked and stunned form of Shannon.

_My name is Scorpireno and I am forever tied to the Ranger Sentinels. I am the Black Dragon of Destiny and the oldest of the Elemental Dragons._

Bec blinked as the voice reverberated through her mind. She didn't care what the creature that had come from Shannon was saying and, while it was good that she had been protected and all, she wanted to know if Bree and Olivia were all right. The two of them were growing on her and something told her they would provide a good bridge for the future generation of Rangers. Were there going to be other Rangers down the track besides them? Beck didn't know for sure, but she was betting that there would be. After all, if Rangers could exist in a different dimension, then the thought of Rangers in the future wasn't too far fetched was it? Barring the Time Force Rangers or whatever they were called, the thought of Rangers existing after their deaths was a normal and acceptable thought to have as evil would keep popping up in the unlikeliest of places.

"What do you want with us?"

The dragon's voice rumbled with laughter and Liz was barely aware of two forms exiting the glowing monster before it erupted into a giant fireball. Taking her attention off the shadowy dragon that was starting to free itself from Shannon's back, she could see Bree and Olivia shaking off what seemed to be slime from their bodies. She hoped it was slime anyway. There was a faint aura of light shining around Bree that matched the colour and intensity of the energy she had seen earlier. She opened her mouth to question the glow, when a strange whistling sound cut through her concentration. Whirling around to where the monster had been seconds ago, she found herself staring at the enlarged left foot of the monster as it finished its growth. However, she could see that the monster was heavily damaged from the energy attack. Its bag was nowhere to be seen as well and she hoped it had been destroyed. There was no telling what would happen if one or more of their Zords were captured.

_Rangers, you must handle the creature. Please transport my host and the other two humans to your base of operations. I will reveal everything when the Leader is present._

Not wanting to waste time debating the decisions with Emma, Liz activated the LOS (Line of Sight) teleporter and tagged the soon-to-be Ranger Sentinels for immediate transport and teleportation. As the energy beams overtook their bodies, she could hear the loud thumps on the ground as six of the Crystal Dinozords ran towards the battle. Pushing all thoughts of the Dark Dragon of Destiny, or whatever the name actually was, from her mind; she refocused on the situation at hand. Seven Zords could possibly form a Megazord of sorts that would be stronger than the Armoured Mode that had been formed previously but without a shared connector…well, they would be a sitting duck. Shaking her head once, she raised her left arm to the sky to call her Zord. She opened her mouth to call upon the 'righteous fury' of the Ivory Tigerzord, when a message flashed on her visor.

[Ultra Titanus is yours to command for the battle. Stay safe.]

Chuckling silently under her breath, she lowered her arm and accepted the new information that was being fed into her mind. Satisfied that she had the perfect combination to call upon to defeat the creature, she raised her hand to the sky once more and pointed the tip of her Ivory Spear at the monster. Inhaling slowly, she hoped everything was going well with Weihan and whatever monster he had rushed off to battle. His battle was separate from theirs and she would now call upon the full fury of their Powers to crush the creature in front of them. Of course, it would mean showing the enemy all of their cards, but that would be easily remedied with a few other combinations. Having absolutely no idea where her vocal strength was coming from, she let loose with the command that would end the battle within minutes.

"Crystal Ultimus, activate!"

She leapt into the air as her Zord materialised around her with a shimmer of off-white energy. As soon as the control sticks solidified, she had wrapped her hands around them and, not really caring that a quarter of her Zord had yet to materialise, initiated a lunging attack. The Ivory Tigerzord raised its front claws into the air and somehow leapt off the ground without its hind legs and rear thrusters. The blades slashed at the chest of the monster but didn't seem to phase it in the slightest. Flicking a switch, she could see the silver and gold form of the 'Ultra' Titanus Carrier Zord as it lumbered over to them on its wheeled legs. As she rested momentarily on top of an evacuated office building, it raised the powerful cannons on its back and fired two bolts of searing energy at the giant monster. Based on the echoing scream of pain and rage that ripped through the air, the monster had felt that attack. Closing her eyes, she pushed power into the Ivory Tigerzord and prepared for the combination to begin. Over the radio, she could hear the other Rangers question the information they were receiving and the attacks of the Ultra Rangers as they finally engaged what they were hunting.

"Liz, what's this Crystal Ultimus? The schematics are scrolling on my screen and…oh. Damn, that's almost overkill."

"Heather, watch your back! These things are coming from the goddamn ceiling!"

"Nine floors cleared…we're on the last one and then we'll help the others. Seven civilians rescued and we've sent them out the front."

"Great; that's always good to know. Why couldn't we have taken the lift?"

Breathing evenly, she gripped her fingers around the controls for a few more seconds. The others should know exactly what they needed to do in the combination and everything was right and ready to begin. Opening her eyes, she looked at the monster through the viewscreen and then at the eight Zords that were around it. Thanks to the external microphones, she could hear the steady thumping of various news helicopters as they hovered just out of the danger zone. No crew wanted another repeat of what had happened with the Boomerang Blade. Silently grateful for that, she pulled back the control sticks and allowed the Power to guide their transformation as the Zords rose into the air.

In a brilliant flash of light, six of the Crystal Dinozords had combined in what was known to the people of Angel Grove as the Mega Dragonzord; the Emerald Dragonzord had split from groin to chin and had settled on top of the formed Megazord formation. From her vantage point inside the cockpit, Emma knew it was called the Crystal Dragon Warrior…which was a name that didn't really make a whole lot of sense to her. Based on what she had seen coming out of Angel Grove, that title would have been more suited to the Battle Mode of the Dragonzord…but who was she to question the Power? The 'Ultra' Titanus was also transforming, standing up on its hind 'legs' while retracting its neck and tail cannons into its body. Jerking the control sticks back, Emma launched the Crystal Dragon Warrior into the air and attacked the monster with the drill affixed to the left 'arm'. The drill pierced the right shoulder of the monster, pushing it back and eliciting a howl of pain from the already-wounded monster.

Tara gripped the control sticks as she looked around at the other Crystal Rangers in the cockpit. The Brachiosaur Zord that her Powers said was called Titanus had retracted its front legs and the large pads that housed its claws had detached from the body. She felt the combined Zord shudder once as the pads locked onto the black fists of the Mammoth Zord and she waited for the rush of Power that could only come from completing a successful Ultrazord sequence. However, the Power compelled her to move the giant Zord towards the opening in Titanus' back as she saw the Ivory Tigerzord split into three parts. The back of Liz's Zord and its hind legs locked on as back armour and seamlessly slid into the connectors on what would normally be the top of the Carrier Zord. The jets on the underside of the Zord flared to life as Emma teleported into the cockpit with the five of them, now waiting for Liz to complete the sequence. Finally, the head section of the Tigerzord locked into place over the chest plate of the massive Zord; the mouth opening slightly for one of the retracted tail cannons to poke through. Tara didn't want to know how the cannon was placed and she doubted she would ever know either…unless she looked at the blueprints more thoroughly. The seats in the cockpit shifted to accommodate the central seat Liz was teleported into and the Ivory Tiger Ranger looked around at her team.

"Let's go."

TBC…


	62. 61: Empty Strokes

Chapter Sixty One: Empty Strokes

Time slowed down to a crawl.

He could see the woman more clearly now, could see the way she had stuck fallen Tenga feathers to her skin and clothes in a vain effort to blend in. Maybe her plan was to go to the fire escape and run outside to safety or, what was a surer option, her mind had snapped in the chaos and violence of the Tenga Queen breeding the first wave of drones. Even more chilling, she may have had people she knew and cared for killed in front of her and their bones crafted into the armour the guards had been wearing. Without thinking, he snapped his head up sharply to retract his visor and knelt down next to the woman. He ignored the blood that pooled around her and could tell that she had only a few more moments to live – if that. Her eyes opened as she looked at his exposed face and her mouth moved as though she was trying to form words. Automatically moving closer to her head, his mouth opened.

"I…I'm sorry. I never meant for it to happen like this…"

His words trailed off as the woman smiled once more and went slack. He shook his head and lifted his bloodstained glove from the floor, closing her open eyes as a mark of respect. As his visor locked into place once more, he mulled over his words as the fire door beckoned. He had stated that he was sorry but for what? He hadn't forced the woman to leap out at him like some sort of deranged killer and he certainly hadn't had any time to change the course of his attack. As he raised his blade to attack one of the remaining Tengas on their floor, he began to wonder if he had really been sorry at all. Of course, the words were there and there had been some real emotion shining through but…well, wasn't he entitled to not feel anything after a kill like that? If he could just recalculate the angle of entry, he could easily dispose with Golems and Fiends with ease. In fact, he felt as if he should thank the woman for revealing to him the secret to plough through the countless number of grunts that always materialised with a monster.

Flinging open the door, he looked into the darkness to find…nothing. Either the Tengas hadn't come to this floor by the stairs or they were using the elevator shafts as a means to get around. He hoped the cars were sealed up tight – otherwise the after-effects would be disastrous. Well, he guessed they would do the rounds and apologise to the people's bodies after the Tenga Queen was dealt with. Civilian casualties were all part and parcel of the job of being a Ranger anyway, yet something about the death seemed to be nagging at the back of his mind. If it was residual guilt from the massacre of the Bad Future, he would have been able to deal with it within an instant. Instead, it felt like something was gnawing at him with teeth that had been long since worn away by the constant movement. Shuddering lightly, he flicked on the light switch and sighed in relief as the white light flooded the stairwell. He had absolutely no idea where the rather morbid and unsettling thought had come from as the experience in Spectre Theatre had practically made him swear from all forms of horror.

Why wasn't he feeling anything?

The realisation struck him like a bolt from the blue and he stood in the doorway to the fire stairs for what seemed like a good five minutes before the first shiver ran down his spine. He had felt guilt and remorse in the past, in the Bad Future when he had to massacre the entire planet but this…he didn't know what was worse: knowing he should be feeling something and not feeling it or the total lack of empathy for the woman he had sliced apart. For Zordon's sake, he was even thinking about how her death could be used to destroy the minions of evil more efficiently! His body began to go numb as he realised that what Xonix had said to him in Equestria was coming true; that he was becoming more and more like the monsters he fought against and he didn't really care that much about humans or humanity.

Shaking his head to bring his mind back to the present, he began running up the stairs even as he heard the surprised and saddened cries of Alex and Rebecca as they stumbled on the body of the woman. Of course, he wouldn't really be held accountable as the woman had clearly had her mind slightly unhinged by the experience but that wasn't really an excuse. Dismissing his Sabre once more, he pulled out his Raptor Cannon and primed it for anything. Stopping outside the door to the 27th floor, he waited for the others to catch up to him. Judging from their body language, they were still trying to figure out the circumstances leading up to the death of the woman. Obviously they had neglected to see the crazed way the feathers had been stuck to her skin and clothes but they hadn't seen the way she had leapt out from the shadows but once the recording from his helmet was played back…they would see her for the lunatic she was. The doors opened and the cycle started up anew. Tengas screeched in pain as blasts of energy ripped through their bodies or suffocating ice enveloped them within seconds.

Amidst all the carnage and chaos, he was at the front once more; clearing a path for his team mates and friends behind him. Every black bird that poked its head out soon lost it and he saw the blackness beginning to creep into his vision once more. He welcomed the focus the tunnel vision gave him, yet a part of him was keeping an eye out for more deranged individuals that might have cracked under the pressure. As a precaution to avoid more human deaths, he snapped an X-Ray overlay over the right side of his vision. It was slightly distracting to be fighting against skeletal Tengas, but it made it easier to see where the humans were…such as the two that were huddled in one of the storage closets. Quickly looking away from them, he pressed one of the hidden buttons next to the trigger and stood his ground as a stream of liquid fire washed over the Tengas in front of him. Channelling more power into the Cannon, he angled the weapon diagonally and continued to hold down the trigger, spraying the area around him in fiery energy. Unlike the previous floor, the papers that were on the desks caught fire and soon triggered the fire sprinklers.

"Yeah, cause fighting these guys in the semi-darkness wasn't hard enough already."

He grimaced under his helmet and suppressed a chuckle. The water coming from the sprinklers would pretty much destroy all the computer and electrical equipment in the office, but it would wash away all the blood that had been spilled. He thought about propping the door open so the water could run down the stairs to the floor they had just come from but, as was the case with most of his 'ideas', dismissed the thought. There was no need to wash the blood away for a person who had given her life so selflessly in the pursuit of defeating Evil. Actually, if he was to say anything at all, he would have stated that she could be buried in the Ultra Cavern as the first in the modern age to test the steel of his blade. Tackling a Tenga to the ground, he shook his head violently and blasted a hole through its throat. Why wasn't he feeling guilty for killing the woman and why wasn't he feeling any sort of remorse? Were the effects of the various spells, rays and blasts that he had been exposed to over the years finally taking effect? Was he even a human being anymore?

He felt his body moving on its own, almost like an autopilot, and his thoughts turned inward. Amidst the blasts of the battle, his inner thoughts were in a whirlwind. On one hand, monsters cared about other things than pure destruction. From the reports Andros had shared with him, it seemed that Ecliptor had shown some degree of genuine affection for Karone and it was apparently strong enough to show itself in the forceful conversion. Leo and Carter had told him similar stories with a few villains they had faced time and time again. Even the monsters that had been sent down showed more emotions than mindless rage and contempt for humanity. If he wanted to push the strained metaphor further, he would have said that he was becoming like Dark Spectre or even Discord. He pushed the thoughts aside for a moment as a handful of Tengas barrelled towards him. The next few moments were a blur of feathers, kicks and energy as the Ranger disposed of the elements of resistance.

"All right, now we –"

Taking a step forward, the sole of his boot came down on a wet pile of feathers and he almost lost his balance. Tipping right and left, he wheeled his arms for some semblance of stability; not really noticing that his wild strikes were impacting against other Tengas throwing themselves at him. The moment he finally regained his balance, he looked around him to see the mass of unconscious bodies by his feet. Giving a half shrug at the oddity of the process, he lowered his head and charged to the door at the opposing end of the room. The next few floors were a blur of motion, fire and the indescribable gnawing of his guilt or conscience that was screaming at him. Only when the door in front of him was marked **To Roof** did he slow his mind down and reflect about what had to be done.

Both wings and arms needed to be sliced or hacked off and the back of its skull needed to be caved in by a powerful blow. Thinking about it didn't detract from the unnecessary brutality but if it needed to be done in roughly that order, then he was the one who had to do it. He surely wasn't going to risk Alex putting the entire monster on ice due to a misplaced slash or have Rebecca's blast nick off a leg or a patch of feathers. Dismissing the Raptor Cannon, he steeled himself and pulled out, for the third time, his Sabre. Most of the blood that had been splashed on the blade had gone, but there were still a few dull red streaks near the centre. He looked at them impassively and tried to force himself to feel something like remorse, sadness or even ramping up the guilt for the needless death…yet, try as he might, he couldn't feel anything. The woman had served her purpose and, if he could just analyse the footage, she would prove to be useful even in death. Taking in a deep breath and readying his eyes for the sudden blast of sunlight, he pushed open the door.

"Holy shit…we're in trouble."

TBC…


	63. 62: Small Strokes

Chapter Sixty Two: Small Strokes

Nothing could have prepared him for the sheer size.

It had occurred to him that if the nest was visible on the other side of the Harbour, it must be pretty big at 'ground' level, but this was bordering on hilariously ridiculous. Thick beams of steel and wood crisscrossed the bowl-shaped nest and he could see the Tenga Queen in its centre, humorously dwarfed by the immense size of the nest. However, any levity the scene would have had on its own was washed away by the sheer number of Tengas crammed on the rooftop. Horrifyingly, he could see a few of them were starting to test their wings out as the strong winds whipped against their bodies. In the distance, he could see a towering Zord firing its weapons at the monster and knew that Liz must have combined the Zords together for their version of the Dino Ultramax. Allowing a small smile to ghost across his face, his attention resumed to the crowd of birds in front of him.

"How do we do this?"

"Take out the head and they should all fall. We'll need some time before the others get here but I can't wait that long."

As if to punctuate his point, a loud explosion from the direction of North Sydney boomed out as the Crystal Rangers' version of the Ultramax destroyed the monster in a shower of sparks. The only other problem in his plan, apart from their lack of Ranger power, was the mobility…or lack thereof. The only free space he could see was directly in front of them and he knew that the Tengas would soon surge towards them when the first move was made. If he was going to destroy the Tenga Queen, he would have to move fast and smart. Banishing all thoughts of a non-battle nature from his mind, he opened himself to the Power once more and tapped into the speed and stealth powers of his Main Three. The power of speed he had used many times in the past but he hadn't needed to use the power of stealth since the battle with the Wolf Wraith all those years ago. He wasn't quite sure how it would work but it was better for it to fail in the process than for him to not have done it at all…or something along those lines. He tensed his body and lifted his Sabre high.

"Let's do this."

As the final syllable fell from his lips, he launched himself into the air. As expected, several Tenga drones followed him up and he took the opportunity to activate the stealth powers. An energy shimmer enveloped his body as his Ninjetti Spirit Animal came to the fore and made his movements blurry and harder to keep track of. Burning seven Tengas to a crisp on the way down, the Orange Ranger had to agree that the stealth powers worked better when he was standing still or moving extremely slowly. Unfortunately, he doubted he would have a chance to test out that theory as he didn't foresee himself sneaking behind enemy lines anytime soon. On the other hand, he hadn't forseen himself slicing an innocent in half and feeling absolutely no emotion from it. Shaking his head as the first blasts sounded from behind his back, he pushed the emotionless uncertainty down and focused on the battle. He channelled power into his Sabre, fists and feet to ensure that anything that came within striking distance fell to the ground in a burnt and charred mess.

He didn't think about how fast he was going or where the next landing point was. His movements were literally a blur and, although he couldn't be sure until after the battle, he thought that the stealth ability had worn off. Calling on the Power within, he extended his left hand, palm outward, and summoned a large burst of super-heated flames that enveloped the Tengas behind him. Turning towards the throng that barred his way to the Tenga Queen, he could now hear the horrendous screeching that issued from the monster as each of her brood fell. A sadistic smile wormed its way over his face and he plucked his Raptor Laser from his belt. Converting it to the light sabre mode, he readied his body as the remaining Rangers finally made it onto the rooftop. As they gathered around him, ready to make the final push, he ran over the 'plan' once more. He didn't think the Tenga Queen would stand still and let herself be destroyed, which meant he had to think strategically. The wings would be the first to go, both to keep the monster grounded and for them to be the first step in its destruction. The arms would be next and they would have to be taken off at the shoulder. The final thing that needed to be done was a crushing blow to the back of the skull. There was surely something in his vast arsenal of powers and abilities that could do the trick and, if there wasn't, he was sure he could figure something out.

Well, destroying the building outright was way out.

En masse, the Ultra Rangers charged into the crowd of Tengas. Their weapons swung deadly arcs through the air and screeches of injured or dying birds echoed off the roof. Tengas dive-bombed them from the skies, while the ones on the ground tried to limit access to their Queen as much as possible. It was a futile act, but that didn't stop them from mindlessly throwing themselves at the Rangers. Weihan leapt over an ice blast from Alex's Mammoth Buster and drove both blades down into the top of the frozen bird's head, giving silent thanks to Luna that there were no news helicopters nearby. Technically there were news choppers nearby but they were all close to North Sydney and filling their reels with shots of the gestalt Zord. He could see it out of the corner of his eye and wondered what Liz and the others were waiting for. Sure, most of their 'cards' hadn't been exposed but with the combined Zord out in the open like that, there was a great chance for Jabarkas to be developing strategies to counter its abilities. Of course, he knew nothing could counter a gigantic energy blast aimed at your head but he guessed it was the thought that counted…or something like that.

The others were using their powers to call upon weapons that he had never seen before, weapons that seemed to be more 'futuristic' than Paris' Fire Smasher. Heather and Aimee were fighting with blades or knives that seemed to have been folded out from a pair of binoculars while Sarah P blasted the Tengas around her with a blaster that resembled the open mouth of a lion. Ducking under a Tenga's ridiculously sloppy swing, he could see the 'Super' Ranger – or Dragon Ultra Ranger as she wanted to be called – attach something in the open mouth. He didn't know what it was but he doubted a red Vulcan-looking thing would be of assistance. The spray of beams a few moments later forced him to drop that train of thought in its tracks. Turning away from the weapons in their hands, he planned his path to the Tenga Queen as the nest began to spawn more Tengas. Hunching his shoulders, he raced off over the heads of the drones, slicing and stabbing his way through the feathery crowd. The Laser Blade hummed as it cut down several Tengas and his Sabre blazed with fire as their corpses started to burn. The filter in his helmet kept out the smell of burning feathers and scorched flesh but the air conditioning system would suck it all in to distribute to the practically empty building. He hoped the elevators ran on their own system.

Maybe it was his imagination but upon cutting down one of the Tengas, their faces seemed to shift imperceptibly. They no longer looked like Tengas to Weihan, instead looking very much so like the woman that had been cut down. Leering faces with pleading eyes looked back at him and he had to bite down on his inner cheek to keep from screaming aloud. Even the clawed hands that beat against his armour didn't look avian anymore; they looked like a human hand with something dark splattered on the skin to make it seem black. He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them once more as he tumbled to the ground from a lucky hit. The faces were gone and the Tengas were back to looking like birds from the depths of Hell. Concentrating his power, he unleashed almost everything in a large fireball that disintegrated all of the Tengas around him…and a good chunk of the roof as well. Unless he severed any elevator cables, he supposed he was in the clear over the property damage. As the last of the ashes fell to the scorched and melted cement, Weihan looked up

He was at the Nest

TBC…


	64. 63: The Final Stroke

Chapter Sixty Three: The Final Stroke

At least there were no more Tengas.

The Nest had stopped pumping out drones ever since his fiery outburst but the Tenga Queen was in front of him in all her…glory. Not looking any different than a regular Tenga, the creature's chest and shoulders were protected by an exquisitely crafted set of armour made from some sort of dark material. There was no whiteness that he could see, which meant it wasn't created out of any sort of bone. He watched in fascination as it lifted one arm into the air and pointed at the empty space behind him. An electrical crackle ripped through the air as sparks danced on the tips of the claws. He felt the hair on the back on his neck stand up and whirled around – just in time to see an unlucky Tenga bisected as the walls of the energy shield closed. Wondering how he had managed to waltz right into a trap created by a Tenga, he turned back to the creature and raised his blades. The armour would make it rather difficult to cut the arms off, but he was starting with the wings anyway.

"Stop."

He paused as the voice rang through the air. It was a light and airy voice, with slight traces of femineity and the strangest high-pitched echo reverberating after each syllable…almost like a bell. Warily, he lowered his blades and nodded once for the monster to continue. As the Tenga Queen stepped towards him, he could feel warmth spread through his body. The Queen clearly didn't mean for any harm to befall him, otherwise she would have attacked already. As if in a daze, he holstered his weapons and looked at the Tenga Queen with eyes that were seemingly seeing her for the first time. There were some words scrolling on the inside of his visor but he paid them no notice. Selecting the positive option on the dialog box that popped up was also a breeze and he took one step towards his Queen. Yes, together they would make the world suffer as their children would spread hatred and despair. The voices told him everything and they knew all, they told him that death was a natural part of life and the woman would have been found out and killed sooner or later. His not feeling anything was just preparation for him to ascend as her King, to overthrow the rulers on the Moon and rule the world with an iron fist like the monster he was.

Wait…that was wrong, wasn't it? He wasn't a monster; even though he had taken the life of an innocent woman. Hell, if he really wanted to get into the 'meat' of things, he had killed millions – if not billions – of lives in his slaughter of the Bad Future. He wasn't even an emotionless killer, though he felt strangely empty inside when thinking about the death. Yes, there were minute traces of sorrow and guilt, but they were small enough to be easily quashed. However, as small as those traces were, it still showed that he wasn't becoming some emotionless killer…which was kind of the same thing as what he had thought earlier. He shook his head and wrapped himself in the cleansing cocoon of the Power. He could see his Ranger Armour responding to some sort of frequency that had been present, creating a filter to blot it from the auditory receptors. He knew it was only a phantom sensation, but he could feel his thoughts return to him with the rest of his conscious mind.

"What the fuck was that?"

He looked up at the Tenga Queen with realisation dawning in his eyes. As they had progressed through the floors, they had released the notion that the monster had any sort of mental manipulation powers on humans. However, it seemed that they had been too quick to let that assumption go as evidenced by the strange thoughts that had come over him. In fact, it would be all too easy to pin the murder of the woman on the mental voice…but Weihan still had his integrity as a Ranger. Maybe he had been taking on too much since the return of Jabarkas. That was the correct thing to do and he would return a rested Ranger. The only issue on his mind now was when to tell the others that he was leaving…and where he would go. He would probably cross that bridge when it came up.

Mind made up, he pulled out his Raptor Sabre for what he hoped was the final time and prepared himself for what was likely to be the most brutal monster destruction ever. As the shield was still up, the others couldn't help him. Even if they could, the number of Tenga drones still remaining would more than likely overwhelm them if their attention was taken away for even a split-second. Tapping one of the buttons on the handle, he felt the Sabre vibrate once as the metal blade slid back to reveal its fiery core. Pushing more Power from the Ultra Grid into the weapon, he shifted his legs subtly and adjusted his grip on the handle. This needed to be fast for it to be effective and he had to call on everything he had in his reserves. Burnout could be dealt with after the battle.

"What are you doing, little Ranger? You won't attack me, will you?"

The voice of the Tenga Queen was harsh and grating; with the manipulation frequencies removed, it had reverted back to the screeches that always came out of the mouth of Tengas. For the first time in her life, a trickle of fear wormed its way into her thoughts and down her spine. All care had been taken from her earlier attacks to heavily damage the vocal mechanism of the robotic creature to ensure her weaknesses could not be passed on. That had been the plan in theory, though following through on it had proven slightly difficult. All of the correct wires and components had been torn out though and, if it had retained its speaking ability, it had been grievously wounded and wouldn't have lasted long anyway. Yet, it would take too long to divulge to the Ranger about her weak points, the places which her armour didn't adequately protect, or the kill-switch located at the back of her skull. She would be safe from the Ranger and his feebly pathetic attempts to destroy her as the armour would keep her safe from any blow – no matter how energised.

As the Ranger charged at her, she lowered her body and prepared for the assault. Beginning with a slash to the chest, she would then bend every limb back as far as it would go before ripping the useless limbs away. That would surely demorph the fool and she would use his body as sustenance for a much stronger breed of warriors that would consume all in their path until the worlds was left a smouldering husk. At least, that was the plan in theory. Even with her mind dedicated to the simple strategy, she knew that things could go wrong but she had done everything possible to minimise that gap. Barring that, if everything fell out of the nest, she could always toss the Ranger off the edge and watch him plummet helplessly to his death. The sound of his body hitting the ground would feel so exhilarating and would prove to the Universe that Tengas were fit to be the rulers of all. She spread her wings in preparation for the first blow and lashed out…at empty air.

Eyes darting everywhere, she missed the blurred shadow land behind her. What she didn't miss, however, were the twin shards of white-hot agony that raked her back, nor the release of the familiar weight that had hung on her back as long as she could remember. She screeched in pain and crumpled to the ground as the Orange Ranger materialised in front of her, his blade dripping with fresh blood. The purple and black tarry liquid dripped off the energy blade in thick gobs, splattering onto the ground under her talons. Twin rivers of heat slowly wormed down her back as her lifeblood pumped from the torn veins. How could this happen to her of all Tengas? Had her calculations and careful planning slipped away from her in the most vital of moments…or was it that the blows inflicted on the robotic creature weren't deep or numerous enough? Whatever it was, the Ranger had scored first blood and the blade wouldn't be sharp or strong enough to slice through the shoulder protectors anyway. Unsteadily rising to her feet, he swung around to shred the helmet of the Ranger only to hit nothing but air for a second time.

The first 'amputation' had been made but the blood still wasn't boiling off his blade. Weihan looked at the black smears in disdain and leapt away as the Tenga Queen whirled around once more. He had to keep moving to avoid her getting a bead on him. Those claws were wickedly sharp and, if what he had seen on Vectron was any indication, could certainly shred through the thickest of armour. He wanted desperately to wipe off the sweat trickling down his face and he forced himself to ignore the sensation. More power was flowing into the blade to allow it to vibrate faster and faster. He wasn't sure how it all worked but he was sure that the vibration coupled with the intense heat would easily slice through the shoulder armour and slice off one of the arms as easily as sliding a hot knife through butter. Grimacing at the empty rumble his stomach made, he vowed to not use any more food-related imagery for the rest of the fight. He had already sworn off eating chicken and other poultry-related foodstuffs since the beginning of the battle and he didn't need to swear off butter as well. Stopping in front of the Tenga Queen, he gave an experimental slash to the right arm of the monster.

Whatever had happened to his weapon, it worked. He felt no resistance from the armour as the blade passed through the metal, flesh and bone. Leaping away from the monster, he wondered if he had miscalculated the distance and had actually missed. That would have been rather embarrassing but…no; it looked like the slice had cut cleanly. The shoulder-plate fell off first, impacting against the cement floor with a dull clang. The Tenga Queen looked at the sheared-off metal curiously and, with a start that bordered on whiplash, turned to stare at her shoulder in horror. The feathers were the first to fall from the shoulder, the intense heat from the passing Sabre had made their quills extremely brittle – to the point where the rough movement of the shoulder-plate falling off was enough to dislodge it from the follicles. As the Tenga Queen raised its left arm to prod the right, the Sabre flew through the air once more.

This time, the effect came much faster. Within seconds of the Sabre's slice, the shoulder-plate on the left side fell off and the arm dropped off moments later. There was surprisingly little blood as the intense heat had all but cauterised the wound but a few drops were teased out by the impact against the ground. The right arm had yet to fall, but the damage was already done. His X-Ray overlay informed him that the bone had been cleaved in two and had slightly fractured on either end of the incision and the main veins had been burnt shut. Frankly, that was a little bit morbid – even for him – but he couldn't disagree with the results. The arm had effectively been severed from the main body and couldn't be used in any attacks. Gravity was already starting to take effect as he could see the skin around the arm beginning to stretch, taking the useless limb away from the main body.

He was two for two so far…and that left the last and, in his opinion, most brutal manoeuvre left: the crushing blow to the back of the skull. He disproved of the last move as the seemed to be very much overkill, but Vectron had stated that was the final thing that needed to be done to ensure complete and total destruction of the monster. His internal feelings meant nothing against the full weight of the task bearing down on him. Fortunately for him, he had the perfect attack in his arsenal to deliver what was likely to be the final blow. The only issue was whether or not he could get into position to pull it off. A wounded animal was dangerous on its own, so an animal monster that just had four of its limbs severed was going to be downright suicidal to engage head-on. The others had finished mopping up the remaining Tengas and most of them were looking at him, wondering what his next move would be. Amusingly, Alex and Paris were walking towards a landed news helicopter and motioning for the pilot to take off once more. If the news crews managed to get a clear shot of the monster's damage then it wouldn't be so funny.

His mind screamed at him as he dropped his stealth ability and felt the eyes of the Tenga Queen fall on his body. They were at the ends of their ropes and couldn't last much longer. A head-on attack was suicidal, but it was the only way to end the fight without any further human collateral inflicted. Letting his Sabre drop to the ground, he readied his body for the final move. His Battle Armour sparkled in the sun and it completed the image of the Orange Ranger as an unstoppable force. Yet, the image wasn't complete as the Battle Armour showed signs of his previous battles. Small flecks of Tenga blood and feathers were stuck on his shoulder spikes and, try as he might, he couldn't really ignore the large red splash of human blood that was painfully evident on his chest. However, there was no turning back now. Breaking into a dead sprint towards the monster, he let his Battle Armour shimmer away into nothingness and gathered his anger and rage into a 'cohesive' form. Cracks formed wherever his feet hit the ground and, if he was able to take his focus off the monster, flared orange for the briefest of moments. The Tenga Queen squawked at him, a hideous and truly gut-wrenching sound that revealed the animal within and lunged with her beak wide and ready to shatter his visor.

For the third and final time, she hit nothing.

"Hellfire Armour!"

In a blazing flash of flames, Hell's strongest set of armour materialised on his body and renewed his reserves. Landing in the centre of the giant nest, he looked around for a few moments and saw exactly how the nest kept pumping out the Tengas. Several unhatched eggs lined the curving walls, sitting near an opening that led to the 'outside'. Why they couldn't climb over the top and leave that way was a mystery to him but, honestly, he didn't care if there was a rock tunnel leading them out of Shawshank. Concentrating the energies swirling around him, he tightened his focus and unleashed it in a truly titanic blast that shattered the nest. Over the reverberation still ringing in his ears, he could hear the shocked and horrified cry of the Tenga Queen as her plans for ruling the world shattered along with the last of her brood. As he walked over to her, a small egg, somehow surviving the maelstrom of fire and power, caught his eye and he turned to look at it. It was the same size as a chicken egg but it was coloured purple and had several spots of dark green on its surface. There was also a crack beginning to form on the shell as the Tenga inside began to squirm free. Impassively, he unhooked the Dragonbreath Blade and pointed the blade emitter at the egg. The blade speared the egg, breaking open the shell completely and skewering the baby inside.

"Fire Strike."

The words fell from his mouth as he began to run at the monster once more. The Tenga Queen had sunk to her knees in despair, looking around her at the shattered ruins her plan had fallen into. The back of her head was undefended and open to attack and he aimed his outstretched right leg at the base of her skull. He didn't even blink as the body of the monster was consumed by roaring flames or as the shield blinked out of existence, sending Heather and Aimee sprawling onto the ground.

For better or worse, it was over.

TBC…

AN: Just one more chapter pertaining to the aftermath until the…other thing…can get started!


	65. 64: Shadowed Elements

Chapter Sixty Four: Shadowed Elements

"You fucking murderer!"

The screaming woman strained hard against the arms of the police as they held her back, struggling to slip her wrists into cuffs without trapping one of their own in the madwoman's frenzied embrace. Maybe it had been a bad move in holding a press conference directly after the battle's end but he had somehow been cajoled by both Sarah P and Paris into arranging it. Honestly, all he wanted to do was sleep for a week and then work on getting rid of the numbing emptiness inside him whenever he thought of the death of the woman…that he had just learned was a temporary worker and the daughter of the Company President. The President had shared a private word with him over the matter and, although terribly distraught, had reassured the Ranger repeatedly that there was nothing that could have been done to save her. Although the knowledge hadn't helped in the slightest, the President had said that his daughter had idolised the forces of Evil and thought of them as a cure to end the problems of the world. An accidental death at the hands of the Rangers was probably one of the better options on the table…although it was one that he didn't think would come about so soon.

Raising his head slightly, Weihan could see the Company President shake his head slowly at the over-the-top antics of his wife. He couldn't really blame her as he had been the one to slice the poor girl in half but to call him a murderer was a bit…well, while it was technically accurate, it was a step too far. He sighed under his helmet and fought against a fresh wave of facial twitches, a sure sign that he was becoming extremely annoyed with the questioning. The press conference had gone on for well over two hours without break and looked to continue on well into the late afternoon, if he didn't do something to wrap it up. If he hadn't had the foresight to create duplicates of himself and the other Crystal Rangers…well, they would have been in deep shit for sure. As it was, he could hear the whispers and chuckles coming from the direct line into the Ultra Cavern, as well as the rather expressive 'silence' that was coming from Shannon as she tried to digest everything that had happened. Fighting the urge to shake his head, he looked out over the reporters' heads and spoke once more.

"Now, as I was saying, there were one or two unfortunate casualties during the rescue but, as far as we were able to tell, everyone made it out of the building all right. There may be some damage from the fire sprinklers going off in the middle of the battle but I think that was only confined to the upper floors. The others may have residual damage from the fighting and the dead Tengas that are still in the building. If anything, I am sure this will ensure most of you guys save and backup your work to avoid another catastrophe."

A ripple of slightly nervous chuckles rippled through the reporters, while a few of the remaining office workers shook their heads slowly. Oh well, it was none of his business if they learned from their mistakes or not but he was sure the Company President would speak to the Board of Directors about allowing some of the more senior execs more time. As he had stated, it wasn't his place to meddle in the affairs of office politics. Nodding once to the crowd, he opened his mouth once more; hoping that his next statement wouldn't attract a billion questions like the first 'bombshell'.

"The cleanup of the nest will take approximately three days and a purge of the air conditioning system will be undertaken over the weekend. If you are planning on working on the weekend, don't do that as you will not likely survive the gas being used. Before anyone asks, the gas needs 24 hours to completely kill off anything and everything still living in the building and 24 hours to change into breathable air. As stated at the beginning of this 'conference', the Zord formation used by the Crystal Rangers is an extremely unorthodox design but it was able to get the job done with a minimum of collateral damage. Now if there are no further questions…"

Dozens of flashes lit up as a multitude of microphones and cameras were pushed in his direction. It was always rather amusing to see how the various news crews reacted to that statement and, although he had been prepared, it still stunned him slightly. On the other hand, he could barely hear one question from the next as everything blended together in a sort of strange flood of voices. Random words popped out at him like 'energy' and 'gas' and he struggled against the sigh that threatened to burst from his lungs. Instead, he waited for the shouted questions to die down before holding up his hands in mock surrender. He really needed to deal with Shannon in the Ultra Cavern and whatever else Bree had been spouting to him over the wire; something about one of the oldest Elemental Dragons being discovered…or something along those lines. And, as if everything else wasn't going to be a headache and a half to deal with, he had to attempt to find some measure of his humanity before he went crazy or mentally transformed into Psychogre 2.0.

"All right then. I think this thing has gone on for long enough and if I stay here talking for longer, this place may be attacked once more. I'm sure I don't have to remind all of you about the track record of the Ultra Rangers and being attacked in press conferences. So, this is the Orange Ranger signing off…for now."

As the last word fell from his lips, he hit the teleportation button on his belt and vanished in a streak of orange light. The, admittedly hilarious, thing was, he didn't even know about the button until he had discovered it one day in the 'down time'. Materialising on top of a secluded cliff near Bondi Beach was not a very good way of finding out the location of the button – especially since he had his helmet off. However, the cliff had been far enough away from houses and people that he was able to teleport away before any hypothetical wanderer wondered what the Orange Ranger was doing. At least he hoped no one had been watching, but that would kinda explain the black vehicle that had been suspiciously following him. He had thought it had been from the police investigation that had practically wrapped itself up on account of no new leads, but he had other suspicions. Oh well, that was a bridge to be charged over sometime far in the future…after he had managed to piece together the crazy mess that was his mind.

As the light from the teleportation left his vision, he stepped forward and demorphed, his armour dissolving off his body with orange sparkles. A cool breeze hit his skin and he wondered, not for the first time, why everything had to be so damn cold. Shaking off the strange feeling that ran over his body, he began walking towards the Crystal Rangers and the three who would quite possibly become the Ranger Sentinels…even if he still thought the name needed some work. He paused as he heard the other Rangers teleport in behind him. There was something wrong with the lights; they just didn't seem to be doing an effective job with the whole 'lighting the room' thing. Or maybe that was a psychological effect from the death and shock he was bound to be going through, something that had been transferred to his eyes…something that his Power would have corrected the moment his vision started to darken. Moving his mind away from the errant thought, he reached the steps that led up to the main Control area and began to climb up. Wait…had the steps always been that dark? He could've sworn that…

Hello, young Ranger.

The voice in his mind made him pull up short. Placing his feet onto semi-solid ground, he looked up at the people on top of the platform and looked at them. They seemed rather bemused by his reactions, except for Shannon who kept staring into the area above her head like it held some sort of significance. His head came up as he tried to see what had caught the potential Sentinel's eye but could only see shadow. There was nothing of interest or significance there, though he still had no idea where the voice had come from. It wasn't deep and rich as Zordon's had been, nor was it the strangely younger voice of the Zordon-like figure that he hadn't heard for so long. He began to wonder if he would ever find out the mystery of what those occurrences had been about before shaking his head slowly. He would deal with it when the time came…unless it involved leaping into the past with a team of fresh-faced Rangers to save the universe from some evil before the Ultra Rangers had existed. He made to scoff at the thought and then stopped yet again. Knowing his luck and the little he recalled from the voices, he was all but sure that would happen. Well, if it wasn't Zordon coming back from the dead for the second time to give him advice, what was it?

Slowly, he walked up the remainder of the steps with his eyes fixed on the shadow that held Shannon's interest. He could hear the others talking to him, saying something about how his abrupt exit from the conference had caused much swearing from the crews; honestly, he didn't care if they all spontaneously started dancing the Macarena while wearing grass skirts. Blocking his mind off before any scarring images could form in his mind's eye, he stared deeper into the black abyss and ignored the facets of his mind that were screaming at him not to do such an idiotic thing. What was the old saying again? If you looked into the abyss, the abyss looked back? He had always thought it was a stupid saying and recalled many discussions with his mother and sister about the underlying meanings of the words.

The shadows moved and solidified. Aged yellow eyes peered out from a draconic face that looked as old and tired as Zordon's was. A serpentine head rose up from the darkness and lowered towards the stunned Ranger. Leathery wings stretched out, bending slightly so they wouldn't touch the sides of the Ultra Cavern. A long and slightly opaque tail draped over the shoulders of his Utahraptor Dinozord, its tip raised so the scorpion stinger wouldn't scratch at the protective paint. As it was, he could see a small dot of something that looked like venom appear for a split-second before vanishing. He swallowed hard as the immense shadowy dragon appeared before him.

"I really need to get my eyes checked."

TBC…


	66. 65: Complete Set

AN: After this, the story will be split into two parts dealing with the fallout and...other things.

Chapter Sixty Five: Complete Set

Maybe it wasn't his eyes that needed help.

He stared up at the shadowy dragon as it slowly glided down from the ceiling, somehow shrinking until it was about the same size as Princess Celestia. Alternatively, it was big enough that he could look it in the eye without being reminded of the freaky creatures he had seen turned into monsters in Equestria. Yet, there was something about being in the same room as a being that could change sizes at will that made him shut his mind off from those thoughts before the incident with Love Tick could come up for air once more. Swallowing hard, he steeled himself and stepped forward. He wasn't going to extend his hand to the shadowy dragon, Elemental Dragon or not, but he could still afford to extend some measure of courtesy to the…strange, shadowy dragon thing.

"Welcome to the Ultra Cavern. I understand you wanted to speak with me?"

The dragon nodded and stepped forward, closing its eyes to do…something that gave more detail to its body. The scales on its skin shimmered like onyx in moonlight and there were three small rows of spines that reached from the back of its neck to the end of the tail. Its front limbs solidified and Weihan could see the hands weren't really hands at all. Instead, they looked to be akin to scorpion claws; a sight that did not sit well with the Orange Ranger at all. He watched as the creature slowly walked towards the confused and clearly frightened girl and placed its wings around her shoulders. Shannon's shaking and trembling began to taper off, almost as if…no, that wasn't possible. For that to happen, her parents would have had to…and they would have access to…and everything was becoming more and more complex and complicated. As the voice rumbled inside his mind once more, he realised what he needed to do.

_I am Scorpireno, the Black Dragon of Destiny. I am bound to the family line of this human and am the final piece needed to unlock the potential of the Sentinel Powers._

Yes, because he really needed a headache and a half to deal with after the battle with the Tenga Queen. He also noticed none of the Crystal Rangers were looking him in the eye and the two confirmed Ranger Sentinels seemed to be recoiling from him; which probably meant they had already seen the recordings of his actions and were silently judging him. And that meant he needed to get away from this place as quickly as possible to sort out the tangled mess of shit his mind had deteriorated into. He would decide on a destination later but for now…his shoulders sagged slightly and he let out a long breath as the Black Dragon of whatever looked at him. He supposed if he looked closer, he could see the judgement in its eyes coupled with the same slightly disappointed look that he had called the 'Guilt Trip'. Drawing in a deep breath, he forced himself to look at the Elemental Dragon of Destiny to see…acceptance? He forced himself to stay still as Scorpireno began to hover around him, seemingly staring into his mind and soul.

_I can see it now. Yes, you are to be a great leader and you have been so in the past but now…now, there is something different in you. You can sense it as well and you know what to do, which is, in a way, good. However, the time for that is in the future. We have something to discuss about the Ranger Sentinels._

He could feel all eyes on him, especially from the Ultra Rangers. Pushing everything to the back of his mind, he nodded once and drew out his Ultra Crystal. He had no idea if the Sentinel Coins would come out of his Crystal as they had been residing on Phaedos for the past few centuries, but he had to try something. Even if no Morphers came with the Coins, they could still morph with the Coins. Or Ninjor could help them with crude transformers before the actual Morphers were delivered. He wasn't quite sure about that part yet. Shaking his head slowly, he blanked his mind and concentrated on the Ultra Grid as a whole, searching for the three connections to the Ranger Sentinel Powers. The air around him crackled with the power being unlocked and he felt his feet leave the ground…however; there was only him and the Crystal, nothing more and nothing less.

Through the connections, he was able to sense two of the Sentinel Coins had already gone to their bearers. Indeed, whatever that freaky column of light had been earlier in the day; it seemed to have drawn Bree and Olivia's Coins to them within an instant. Morphers wouldn't be a problem either as he could feel the Grid assembling them piece by piece. It was actually a rather disconcerting feeling, though he knew that his visions were soon to be coming true. His eyelids closed, enveloping him in the calming void of darkness. The Power was telling him that the Black Dragon Sentinel was supposed to be the strongest of the Sentinels, the Leader and the first one that should have been activated. Bree unlocking the 'Dualsaurs' in the battle against the battleship had thrown all those plans into disarray. Now, the Dual Dino Sentinel was to be the strongest and the leader but, with her sister having touched the Power before, Scorpireno couldn't have argued with the decision even if the Elemental had wanted to.

_It is slightly more complex than that._

With a start that almost knocked him out of the grip of the Grid, he realised the Elemental Dragon could read his thoughts or, at the very least, pick up on what was happening in the Grid. As he concentrated on drawing out the final Sentinel Coin from the Power Matrix, he motioned for the dragon to continue…even if he didn't really know how such a thing was possible.

_It is true that I am the oldest Elemental Dragon left. The whereabouts of the remaining three are unknown to me at this time…there was a battle and we were separated. Shortly after that, I was called to the Planet of the Ninjetti to be bound to one of the Powers being created. We Elemental Dragons were amongst the first beings in the Universe to come into existence and we have watched over the creation and evolution of the Elements. I…it is my fault; I should have looked after them…Pydro, Tempest, Terra. Why didn't you three listen to me?_

OK…listening to someone tell the history of the Sentinel Powers was one thing, but hearing a being that had been bound to one Coin lament about his missing team-mates was another. The Orange Ranger wondered if he would ever be able to see the 'full set' of Elemental Dragons fighting the forces of evil. Of course, knowing his luck, it would begin with one of them turning rogue or something and end with lots of death, destruction and other 'lovely' bits that made him sick to his stomach. Yet, as the main question always seemed to be, why was it that he was sickened by the thought of wanton destruction and not fazed at all about the death of the woman? He wished the Dragon of Destiny would give him the answers he needed but he knew, how he wished he didn't, that the one to pluck those answers from whatever icy tomb they resided in would have to be himself. As the Coin began to come free, the Black Dragon continued.

_It is true; I was supposed to be the strongest of the Sentinels – to guard them into the dangers of the battles. The only caveat was that the person must never have been exposed to any form of Morphin Energy in their lineage. I wan content with this as I knew there were beings in the Universe who had never been exposed. However, several years ago, fate and destiny brought me out of my self-imposed exile to be the guardian of a frail human child. Weak and helpless, she would not last long out of the womb and with her mother already deceased from birthing complications. Her father prayed for someone to keep his daughter safe…and I answered. How was I supposed to know that the family had been in a certain town in the latter part of one of the past centuries? Wild West Rangers indeed…but my fate was sealed._

As the Coin popped free of the Power Matrix, Weihan felt his stomach drop. Knowing about Shannon and what had happened in her birth wasn't something he really wanted to hear about after a battle; however, it did allow him to understand the young woman better. Well, he wouldn't be thinking about her much over the coming days as he would be…somewhere that wasn't here. He'd decide where to go after the screaming from the others had died down. Maybe somewhere like the Bahamas or Hawaii but that posed another problem as those places were still on Earth. Holing himself in the Ultra Cavern was also a no-go as the others would be near or around him. That just left one choice but would he be strong enough to go for it …alone? Opening his eyes, he could see the last of the Sentinel Coins emerge from the mirrored surface of his Ultra Crystal and hover in the air for a few moments. Removing his mind from the Ultra Grid, the Orange Ranger reached out in case it dropped but it darted away from his hand, streaking a black line towards Shannon.

_Wait for it._

The coin stopped short of smacking into her chest and hovered in front of her. As he felt his feet touch the floor, he could see Bree and Olivia moving, as if possessed, to position themselves in a rough triangular formation. Two other coins emerged to join the first and Weihan blinked in surprise as all three began to pulse with various colours. He rubbed his ears as a high-pitched whine filled the air, softly at first but growing louder with each passing second. Suddenly, a bright flash of light enveloped the three females and Weihan swore as he wondered how in Hell he would explain the situation to their parents and loved ones. Not to mention that they would be short three potentially powerful Rangers they needed whenever Xonix stopped dicking around in Equestria and came back.

Sliding his Crystal back into its subspace pocket, he looked at the flare of light and furrowed his brow. Surely, it didn't take this long to disintegrate a human being, the flare was still there after five seconds. Stepping towards the light, even though everything in his body screamed at him not to, he squinted and felt his mouth drop open at the figures within. Yes, they were alive and intact and seemed to be wearing three different sets of armour. The glow faded and he could hear the gasps of shock from those around him as they took in the 'Morphed' forms of the Sentinel Rangers. The ones that actually looked like Rangers were Olivia and, rather surprisingly, Shannon. They were clad in similar 'spandex' bodysuits with little to no decoration – save for a triangle emblazoned with an image of their Sentinel Coin. The same white gloves and boots were present, still spattered with flecks of red, and a white belt encircled their waists. He didn't know what weapons they would have as there were no holsters of any kind, but he knew they would be able to make whatever they had work for them.

On the other side of the coin, Bree's suit looked more in line with an Ultra Ranger's; more specifically, his. A heavy-looking set of armour sat on her shoulders; the triangle of the Sentinel Rangers looking like it had been etched in the material. Three short spikes rose from her shoulders, looking as sharp and deadly as on the armours of the Ultra Rangers. The red spatter was slightly more pronounced on her gloves and boots and her bodysuit looked to be slightly more armoured. In fact, if he didn't know any better, he would have said that her Ranger suit was a version of the strangely powered-up suits Adam had mentioned they had received on Phaedos. Also, if he wanted to be extremely honest with himself, she looked more like an Ultra Ranger than the Ultra Rangers did…which didn't really make a whole heap of sense. Her belt was blue and red, colours which blended in well with the purple and green of her armour.

The designs on their helmets were interesting as well. Olivia's looked like what the result would be if someone mashed the Red Turbo helmet with the Red Morphin Ranger, complete with metallic teeth and headlights that seemed to be constantly turned on. Shannon's was a dead ringer for the Green Dragon Ranger's helmet – only black with red lining on the teeth that looked like fresh blood. Sneaking a peek at Scorpireno, he was relieved to see that it looked more confused than he did. All right, so maybe confused wasn't the right word he was looking for, but it seemed to fit. Bree's looked like an absolute beast – in the best possible way. A ring of silver teeth lined a visor that took up almost the entirety of the front of her helmet. A strange curved crest of sorts stuck out behind her and there was a raised patch of…something on the 'upper jaw'. Five short spikes flared out of the back of her helmet like a neck guard and a smeared line of red lined the mouth plate. Knowing the time was almost right, he stepped closer to the centre of the Command Area as the cheers died down. Maybe it was cruel for him to be informing them right now but, all things considered, it was the best possible time. As all eyes turned on him, expecting him to say something congratulatory, his next statement was anything but.

"I'm leaving Earth."

TBC…


	67. 66: Dealing

Chapter Sixty Six: Dealing

She watched the Zord rise until it was swallowed up by the sky.

All things considered, he had handled the fallout of his unexpected announcement rather well. He had heard all of the complaints, shocked announcements and screaming matches stoically and had clearly outlined his reasons for leaving. Liz didn't know what to think at the revelation that the previously unflappable leader of the Ultra Rangers had killed an innocent human. Of course, she had seen the press conference that had been held and had been perfectly willing to make light-hearted fun over his tempting of fate once more…and then the woman had accused him of the murder. That had been the turning point as everything from then on had taken on a much darker tone. Bree and Olivia had split off from the group and had accessed the internal record databank. It was something Weihan had whipped up on a whim to avoid the rather unsettling process of downloading memories into the system, although that could still be done. The recording of the battle in the office building wasn't even 'cold' before it was accessed…and they had seen everything.

The press conference had been wrapped up quicker than anyone had expected and, in a literal flash, the Ultra Rangers had come back to the Ultra Cavern. Fresh from seeing their leader slice through an unarmed human, Bree and Olivia had recoiled slightly from him and, although he had attempted to shrug it off like it was nothing, she could see that it hurt him. Shannon's trembling and shaking had started up once more and then the immense Black Dragon of shadows or whatever it had called itself had dropped down from the ceiling and circled the Orange Ranger for a short period of time. She had sensed something like mental vibrations, assuming there were such things, being transmitted from Ranger to Elemental Dragon; as well as a great sorrow coming from the shadowy creature. And then, as the three Ranger Sentinels had finally come together as one, their Powers had been granted to them. Liz still had no idea why they were needed, seeing as how the Crystal Rangers were still relatively new. She guessed he knew what he was doing in regards to the protection of Earth…even if he seemed to be a bit off the rails since they had come back from Equestria.

She had to admit, their suits looked spectacular. Graceful and elegant, yet with a subtle air of mysteriousness and menace that was barely restrained under the armour. So lost had they been under the awe of the new suits, that they had been completely taken off guard when Weihan announced that he was leaving Earth. Unsurprisingly, the first one to protest was Alex. The Black/Green Ranger had seen the body and had heard the insults and curses being flung his way, but that was supposed to be the rite of passage for all Rangers. They had inadvertently caused deaths before and they had even put out the press statement stating that their first priority would always be to defeat the monsters. The second one to speak out against his leaving was Bree, the younger Apple sibling arguing that the Earth would be undefended…which, in hindsight, probably wasn't the best thing to be said. She seemed to realise this a moment later and had hastily amended her statement saying that he knew what everything did and the best ways to train them. As always, the response of the Orange Ranger was to casually state that she had been trained by two Rangers already and could ask them for more advice.

"So, he's gone then?"

Liz looked behind her to see Shannon emerge from the shadows. The Black Dragon Ranger Sentinel was hugging herself and constantly pinching her upper arms. At her nod, the blonde's face fell and her heart went out to her. Scorpireno wasn't much help in divulging the reasons behind the departure or his origins but he had stated he would look after the girl until such a time when she could be trained. What that was supposed to mean, she had no idea but she guessed it was all right for the time being. Of course, the sudden friendship between them would have to be explained as, previously, she had been laughing at Weihan and his 'little harem' as they had been called. Shannon's argument towards him staying was that she was having second thoughts about being granted with the Power. Unfortunately, once the Power was granted, it wasn't easily taken away. The other Sentinels had quickly jumped in and said they would take care of any issues that arose until she was able to wrap her mind around everything. The Black Dragon would also be with her as he was bound to protect her until the 'end of her days', which was something that sounded both extremely morbid and ominous.

"Yeah…I wonder where he's going. There are not many places out there that he could go for help."

Shannon nodded in agreement and looked down at the device strapped on her left wrist. It was a simple black wristband with a metallic representation of the Black Dragon on it. Information kept running through her mind, detailing weapons, and attacks, variable flight manoeuvres and even how to control her Zord. It was all so exciting and new and a large part of her wanted to embrace everything and fight by the sides of the Rangers to defeat the evils threatening her world. However, another part of her wanted absolutely nothing to do with the Power…which was kind of a bad thing as the Power had been permanently integrated into her body. The only way she would ever be free was if she was destroyed in battle. Needless to say, she would be keeping her connection to the Power, even though she thought that it was something strange and unnatural. On the other hand, dwelling on her powers brought up a whole other kettle of fish which was how in the world the Black Elemental Dragon had been tasked with protecting her. Her parents had never said anything about a shadowy dragon protecting them but they did own a freakishly large collection of dragon-related materials, something she thought was extremely out of character.

She didn't want to ask her parents but she had to…and that was the most frightening part. That they had practically lied to her face about them being there to protect her, when in reality, she was supposed to be on some sort of evil-fighting team of superheroes. She shook her head and looked up at the blue sky, searching for the barest hint that the sanest one in the Rangers hadn't up and abandoned them. Unfortunately, she knew that he had and without someone strong to rally around, they would either break apart or fail completely. Blinking her eyes against the glare of the sun, she rubbed her fingers together, feeling the light tingle of energy underneath her skin. The thought of magic existing insider her body filled her with a slight amount of dread, but the others could teach her about how to use it wisely. Peeling her eyes away from the sky, she thought about everything that had happened and all she had learned since the attack.

The thought that her classmates were the mysterious Crystal Rangers that had continually 'graced' the news since their first battle was crazy enough, but to think that the quietest and most unassuming boy was the Orange Ultra Ranger was…well, it was extremely mind boggling to say the least. She recalled seeing various snippets of footage of the Orange Ranger in battle and had marvelled at the strength of his power in what everyone had believed to be the final battle. Various scientists had theorised that the amount of power output inherent in the Battlizer would literally be off the charts and was the strongest weapon anyone had ever seen deployed. There was no doubt that it easily outclassed the Battlizer systems of the Power Rangers and was at least a thousand times stronger than the Mega Battle Armours that Lightspeed had developed for their rescue operations. However, it seemed that the user was the problem; at least, according to her father. She had lost track of all of the theoretical expansion simulations or whatever him and his colleagues had discussed, though it seemed that the Battlizer had much more power than what had been displayed. Whatever, it didn't really matter to her anymore if Weihan used that power to its limits.

"So, are you going to stay on for a bit more? Even though we're in a bit of strife, we can still help familiarise you with the systems."

Shannon ran a hand through her hair as a helicopter flew by overhead, apparently drawn there by the sight of a Zord taking off. They wouldn't be seen by anyone in the chopper as the camouflage security system was still in effect. In all actuality, it was in effect 24/7 with no decrease in the overall 'quality' of the Grid – whatever the Grid actually was. That little tidbit of information was thanks to the massive infodump that was only now beginning to taper off. Obscure facts about everything filled her mind and she wondered exactly what the process to make Y'lchn brandy was, as the wine making process involved the flesh. She began to shake her head but stopped, looking down at the dragon that adorned her left wrist. Left to her own devices, she would be lost and have absolutely no idea what to do or how to fully access her morphing powers. She could experiment at home in her room, except her mother had had one of her crazy ideas about 'sprucing up the house' and had removed all of the curtains. Her bedroom faced the backyard so there was less chance of some pervert spying on her while she changed but…well; it was hard to be discreet when the windows were floor-to-ceiling glass.

"Yeah, maybe I'll stick around."

The doors rumbled open behind them and they stepped back into the cool air of the Ultra Cavern. Unsurprisingly, Bree and Olivia were nowhere to be seen; having gone back to the temporary campus to confirm their survival. The other Rangers were nowhere to be seen, though Shannon suspected they were either training or sulking in one of the other parts of the Cavern. The Ivory Tiger Crystal Ranger led her 'junior' to a raised platform of sorts and walked over to a small console on the side. Tapping a few buttons, the Ranger Sentinel jumped back in surprise as her surroundings fizzled out of existence; being replaced with a dark and stormy sky. A cold wind blew past her and was accompanied by a menacing groan. Almost on reflex, she brought her arms up to defend herself as the ground near her feet trembled. She looked around for Liz, only to see the Ivory Ranger summon a long spear into her hands and position her body into a 'ready' position. As the first of the rotting creatures began to heave itself from the ground, Shannon swallowed hard.

It was going to be a long day.

TBC…


	68. 67: Mental

Chapter Sixty Seven: Mental

She flopped face-first onto the bed with a groan.

It had been more than two days since the Orange Ranger had left Earth with no indication of where he was going. While Liz and, later, Shannon had left the Ultra Cavern to see the Zord fly out of the atmosphere, Bree had talked to Olivia about how they were going to get their newest member 'trained up'. The irony of the fact that they were also in the same boat did not escape them and, after around two minutes spent mindlessly giggling over it, they had been forced to face the facts. The only Rangers that could train them with the level of skill and ferocity were the Ultra Rangers, but they were faced with the problem of informing the members who weren't present. Furthermore, they also had to deal with the fact that their strongest member had turned tail and run from his problems instead of talking them out. Of course, there wasn't really any way that an act of murder, wilful or not, could be soothed over with a few words. She surely hoped he found the answer he was looking for; yet, they had been worried as to where he would go…or what he might do.

Their fears had been allayed somewhat in the early hours of the next day. A heavily coded message had been received by the Ultra Cavern concerning his whereabouts. He had been dressed in a cloak and hood combination that screamed 'recon on a hostile planet', which was something his message heavily conveyed. How and why he thought it was a good idea to visit the home planet of Jabarkas would be questions he would answer when he returned. She hoped he had good answers for both of them that didn't result in him hooking up with some alien girl otherwise she would be stringing him by his balls from his Zord. Anyway, short of leaving the planet undefended, there was nothing they could do about it…which somehow made the lack of attacks worse. An errant thought wormed its way up to the forefront of her mind – that he would be better off if he stayed away and never came back. She squashed it down with a small groan. Personal issues or not, the Rangers needed his strength if Xonix ever found his way back from Equestria.

The ringing of her mobile brought her back to her senses as she rolled onto her back with a groan. Hashing out a training plan with Olivia in the shadow of the wrecked 'temporary' class units hadn't been fun, as they had to be constantly on the lookout for any eavesdroppers, but it was extremely necessary. She thanked whatever deity she could that Weihan had shown her how to use the Simul-deck and how to increase the difficulty levels. She hadn't yet figured out exactly how to crack into the cache of extremely protected files she had seen buried in the system, but that didn't really matter to her. Placing her hand inside her blazer pocket, her groping fingers found the small phone hidden under the layer of wadded up tissue paper and old bus tickets. Rolling her eyes, she fished it from the depths of the pocket and answered it. Hopefully she had remembered to charge it before she had placed it in her pocket and all but forgotten about it.

"Hello?"

"Hey sis! What's goin' on in your world?"

Bree's eyes widened slightly and she scrambled off the bed, closing the door to her room with a wave of telekinetic energy. Pausing to look at her hand for a brief moment, she closed her eyes and scanned her surroundings. Even though those police officers had apparently solved the case, they had been seen hanging around the area occasionally. She had also wondered how Olivia would be able to slip away from her sister if the monster alert came up, but that was a matter for her to discover on her own. Taking a deep breath to steady her emotions, she opened her mouth to reply to her sister.

"AJ? What are you doing calling? It must be a fortune for Andrew; billionaire or not!"

"Ah, don't get like that sis. He's fine with this and Ah'm testing out some long-range communication devices fer him as well. Ah tell ya, he's into some strange and high-tech stuff these days. Ever since that cave…"

Bree tightened her fingers around the phone and wondered what she was talking about. She hoped the lost connection with Weihan wasn't enough for her sister to do something drastic and idiotic like…that. On the other hand, Andrew had personally informed her that he didn't see her like that and anything she did on her time off was her own business. She shook her head and dismissed the thoughts that were threatening to overwhelm her. She was due to start training Shannon in around two hours, so the phone call would have to end by then.

"Anyway, Ah'm getting off track. You don't suppose to know anything about something called the Crown of the Gods, do you?"

Bree started to shake her head but stopped as the information came into her mind from the vast expanse of knowledge located inside the Grid. The Crown of the Gods, or Corona Aurora, was an ancient artefact that was purported to grant the wishes and desires of anyone who held it. The sources of its power were five jewels that had been scattered thousands of years ago and many rumours had popped up as to their location. There was even one particularly prevalent rumour that stated that there were actually seven jewels and one of them – the strongest – had been placed in the care of some royalty on a distant planet. Until she was able to verify that, it would be just a rumour to her. Opening her mouth to respond, she snapped it shut with a light click as one last piece of information filtered into her mind. Two brothers had been in pursuit of the Crown and had been imprisoned by its guardian, confined to separate planets until the Crown was found once more.

"I may have some knowledge on the subject. Why d'you ask?"

There was a strange feeling creeping down her spine as she waited for her sister to answer. Even though he was an eccentric billionaire with a son no one knew about, there was no way Andrew Hartford would have done something so immeasurably stupid such as free the Crown of the Gods from its resting place. The first thing that had to have happened is the series of riddles would have had to be deciphered and the instructions to bypass whatever traps and pitfalls decoded. Alone, there was no way he could have done it but with AJ's help and sharp eyes…well, she wasn't so sure if she should be surprised. As she fumbled around for the plug and charger for her phone, she heard a short set of clicks on the other end. When AJ's voice returned, she could instantly pick up on the undercurrent of slight uneasiness – almost as if she had done something bad. The last time she had heard her older sister sound like that was when she had been apologising to her for accidentally poisoning her goldfish when she had been five.

"A few months ago, me and Andrew were is some cavern or temple…something Mayan. That was the first time Weihan mentally contacted me and…well, we talked. After the 'call' ended, Andrew found a small gap to squeeze through that collapsed before I could get through. A few moments later, there was a rumble under my feet and Andrew comes running out of a side tunnel like a bat out of hell…clutching the Crown of the Gods. He found it and…"

AJ's voice trailed off as Bree's stomach dropped. Moltor and Flurious had been imprisoned by the power of the Crown's guardian and they would soon be coming towards Earth, irregardless of Xonix's presence. He would have to do something if he wanted to look for the jewels in peace, something akin to contacting one of the public identity Ranger teams and asking for assistance. She was sure Weihan could strong-arm the Silver Guardians into helping them secure the Crown or Lightspeed could place it in one of their many reserve Aquabases they had around the world. If worst came to the worst, they could hide it in the Ultra Cavern and watch in amusement as the two brothers threw themselves against the walls in frustration. However, there was a small part of her that wanted to forget everything about Andrew and his discovery of the Crown. It didn't impact her in any way, shape or form and if she was targeted by any creature sent down, she could and would defend herself with brute force.

"Well, he's been going like a man possessed. He has me watching over Mack, his son, while he does God knows what in the bowels of the mansion. I think Spencer knows something but he's said nothing to me, though he did ask if I knew how to put together something called a 'Phase 3 Converter Booster', whatever that means."

Bree's mouth opened before she could stop herself.

"Why would he need a Phase 3 and not a Phase 5? Phase 3's are only good for the main 'body' component in a combination and then you would need four of them for the connection points. Wait…why are you assembling Phase 3's?"

She heard the sharp intake of breath on the other end and mentally groaned. She had a strange feeling she would be sending Tommy, Billy or even Adam to San Angeles to help Andrew with his endeavours and she was aware that AJ knew as well. That would mean that, like it or not, Weihan would be aware of what was happening and could act appropriately. On the other hand, he had taken a back seat to all issues involving the Power Rangers as he had heavier things on his mind. She pursed her lips and tried to inject a sense of levity into the conversation.

"Are you sure you should be talking about these things on an open line? You don't want the authorities on your ass, though if the authorities include one Orange Ranger…"

She swore she could almost hear the blood rushing to her sister's face. Finally satisfied with the thought that her sister was still attached to the Orange Ranger, she allowed her thoughts to drift off into other territories…such as what the Hell Andrew was thinking building Zords in such a hostile environment. The Ninja Storm Rangers were still going strong in Blue Bay Harbour, Lightspeed still had their Zords, Time Force were doing all right with shuttling their Zords back and forth in time and she was pretty sure the Sentinel Rangers would be getting their own Zords sometime soon. Stopping short at that, she debated whether or not to inform her sister of her newfound Powered status. Flicking her left wrist, she summoned her Sentinel Morpher and ran her thumb over its face, barely feeling the thin seams.

"That…that's none of your business! The call is encrypted heavily with quantum algorithms and other stuff. Is everything all right? I saw the press conference and would have called earlier but, well, Ah didn't want to give the impression that I was worried about him – which I am – but…well, you know what Ah mean. Is he still around?"

She chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully, looking outside at the afternoon clouds. Mulling over the question for a few seconds, she decided to tell the truth…in a slightly stretched way.

"No, he had to go off-world to check out a few strange rumours regarding an uprising of some kind. He'll be gone for a few weeks at least."

"Oh…yeah, that makes sense actually. I just wanted to talk to him regarding something else Andrew found in the caves when we were leaving. Something about the rise of three powerful sentinels of justice or something like that. It's pretty scrambled so Andrew has me deciphering some parts of it referencing a warrior with two ancient beasts inside her. I was hoping he knew something about it."

Bree shook her head, the urge to tell her sister about her Powers vanishing into the dust. Although they were family, the allure of having one of the Sentinels in front of her would be too great for her sister to bear. Coupled with not having any direct contact with Weihan since the…whatever he had done with that mental link of his, she would have jumped on a plane to Sydney at the drop of a hat – bringing her back into the chaotic world of the Ultra Rangers. That being said, North America was becoming quite the hotbed for Power Rangers; with Blue Bay Harbour, Turtle Cove, Reefside and Angel Grove practically within spitting distance of San Angeles. Added to that the strange and rather cryptic warning they had received from Edward Steele regarding a small town called Briarwood, the entire west coast was becoming Ranger Central. Oh well, if there was any danger down the road, she could call for help from the other Rangers and, if she faced something the 'locals' couldn't handle, she was sure Weihan would jump in.

"So, you don't know anything? The one part I've figured out is 'When the three are joined, the power will surface' or something like that. Ah dunno what it means and Ah'm not used to this stuff…maybe Ah can give Tommy a call an' see what he says. There's not much rumblin's out here but you watch yourself."

Bree nodded, looked at the clock and felt the phone slip from her ear as a strange sensation brushed over her mind. For a brief moment, she could see what looked like an alley on an incredibly alien world. Misshapen buildings loomed above her and the sky was studded with stars and different constellations. In front of her, she could just about make out a strange figure wearing what appeared to be a Ranger-like mask. A voice floated from the figure, whispery soft but holding the promise of untold malice.

"Leave this place, Ranger."

TBC…


	69. 68: Reckonings

Chapter Sixty Eight: Reckoning

"And you are sure he left?"

Jabarkas furrowed his brow as Twinlobe nodded once. Two days without the Orange Ranger on the planet…how had he missed that? More worrying was how he had missed a giant, uncloaked and uncamoflagued Zord hurtling past the Moon. He had been looking over Xonix's notes since Vectron had been destroyed and hadn't heard so much of a peep outside the walls of the Palace. Of course, no noise could travel within the vacuum of space but that wasn't the point. He rolled his eyes and sighed to himself, wondering what had transpired to make the Orange Ranger – the strongest of the Ultra Rangers – pack up and leave without a second thought. Though, he doubted it had been as flippant a decision as that…and he was waffling on again. The more pressing issue was what to do with his time, now that the Master was in another Power Coma on the other side of the dimensional barrier. The next monster was due to 'hatch' in around seven solar cycles, a week or so using human terms, and he still needed to figure out exactly what to do with the Plane Crosser if it would only work a few more times before it became inoperable.

"I know where he went, if you would like to follow."

His eyes snapped up to Twinlobe once more and he rubbed a hand over his head, feeling the small amount of stubble from when he had shaved his head. There was a strange feeling in his gut, something akin to the feeling that came over him whenever he thought of going back to Huran. There was no way he could ever set foot on the surface again after he had betrayed his values as a Ranger but that was literally in the ancient past. However, there was no way that the Orange Ranger would be drawn in to such a planet that was constantly gripped in one civil war or an extraterrestrial invasion. There was just too much fighting ongoing for anything to be done…unless it was a period of relative peace.

No, a more feasible destination for the Orange Ranger would have to be one of the planets under the alliance of the new Morphin Council. Those planets he had skirted around in his galactic travels as they were so steeped in purity and the 'good' side of the Grid. Well, and there was very little chance on gaining any leads or minions. Amusingly enough, none of the monsters that had allied themselves to him had contacted him since he told them to stay away. What that meant was anyone's guess; however, he wasn't worried they would attack on their own. Even with the Orange Ranger off world, they leftover Rangers were dangerous on their own.

"Where is he?"

"He is on Huran."

Well…that was a bit of a surprise and certainly explained the strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. There was nothing on that godforsaken planet worth the time and attention of a Power Ranger, let alone an Ultra Ranger, as the local Rangers would be able to easily track down and destroy whatever threat was menacing them. Nodding in response, he turned around to leave the room…temporarily forgetting he was in his personal quarters. Stepping into the hall, he began wandering down to the Monster Labs with thoughts running rampant through his mind. If his enemy was on the planet, he would have to set aside his centuries-old vow and journey to the planet's surface. Unless there was a way for him to see the place without leaving…he sighed and lightly beat his head on the stone wall.

There was nothing for him back on Huran. His mother had died, his siblings were gone and his father – that despicable wretch of a King – had killed himself when the planet needed him the most. All of his friends had perished in the final battle and he wasn't going to open the vault doors on the memories with Muiesaf until…well, he was never going to open those doors again. Lowering a hand to the belt around his waist, he began rifling through one of the pouches before hesitating. Although he had taken up the vow to never set foot on Huran, he still had contacts around the galaxy that regularly traveled to the planet. If he contacted them, he could assess the situation for himself. Relaxing his fingers, he slumped against the cold wall and forced a chuckle out of his body.

Travelling around the universe and destroying various Rangers with Xonix, he thought he had pushed all those memories out of his mind. He had certainly slammed the door behind him on his Ranger days as his modified beam dagger was the only reminder he had; yet, even that small reminder had been ripped from him on one of the planets. Barring Yit and any other allied creatures, he would never again set foot on the planet labelled K0N-21. Deciding to leave the transmitter in his pouch for now, he walked toward the Monster Labs aimlessly. Two days had gone by with no monsters or Golems being sent down. There was no telling how strong the Rangers would have gotten now or if they had managed to harness the powerful girl that had been saved by the two 'energy lizards'.

He was almost at the door to the Monster Labs when he felt the transmitter vibrate once – signifying a new message. He furrowed his brow and teleported himself back to his quarters with an annoyed sigh. Honestly, he had too much to deal with to worry about the Orange Ranger on Huran. The sisters would more than likely welcome him and his experience and then suck out everything from his mind with beaming smiles. Alternatively, they would ask him to go on some random and meandering quest to find that strange Crystal the King had always been muttering about. Carinimin had always argued that there was some truth to the myth as he had seen the so-called Prophecy; however, that was a fool's dream. Apart from the Ultra Crystals and the Zeo Crystal, no other crystallised forms of power existed in the universe. Well, that was common knowledge on Huran anyway, barring the part about the Ultra Crystals. Outside that planet, he had found that it wasn't true: there were many crystals that imparted great power onto their bearers.

"What is it?"

"I bear news for you, my Lord."

The voice was strangely familiar and, if he didn't know better, he would have said it was coming from one of his family. Ultimately, that couldn't be the case as everyone was either long since dead or had forgotten about the 'rogue Red Ranger' entirely. It was also slightly scrambled, as if the speaker did not want to reveal his or her identity to him…for what reason, he had no clue. Slightly raising an eye ridge, he opened his mouth to ask the news when the voice spoke once more.

"Your enemy is on Huran and coming closer to her. You must come immediately to protect her from his grasp."

He shook his head tiredly, sitting down in the chair behind the table strewn with the notes. The Orange Ranger…he knew this information already and, frankly, didn't care much for it. The only question in his mind was who was 'her' and why did the voice want him to keep her safe? It was almost as if the voice thought the individual was close to him or very dear to him; however, he hadn't felt like that for a member of the opposing sex since…well, it was no sense in unlocking the vault. As far as he was concerned, the life behind that vault door would stay buried and in no way have any sort of effect on his current life. Still, the burning desire to know the answer itched at him and whispered promises to drive him to the brink of madness if he didn't find the answer. Steeling himself for the worst, he opened his mouth and spoke in a low, almost guttural, tone.

"Who is he coming closer to? Why must I be there to stop him?"

The answer rocked him to his very core as his mind hastily started drawing up plans to shatter his long-standing vow.

"Your daughter."

TBC…


	70. 69: Proof

AN: If you haven't been reading Gaiden, you will be slightly confused.

Chapter Sixty Nine: Proof

He should have expected this.

He really should have expected something like this from the Rangers but not from her. Jabarkas flexed one hand irritably as the sides of the staves pressed into his neck, the weapons crossed over his throat and windpipe. Whoever the voice on the line had been, it clearly wasn't Muitime. Of course, the information about his daughter had shocked and surprised him, seeing as he didn't even know he had a daughter to begin with. That and he would have thought that any offspring would more than likely have died thousands of years ago. However, the voice had been insistent that he come to the planet and see for himself, imploring him to cast aside his noble vow for the sake of his family line. Initially reluctant, he had been reassured by Yit, knowing everything thanks to his enhanced hearing, that he would be sending down a monster to attack the destabilised Rangers at the earliest opportunity. And then, after he had seen which monster would be sent down, he was in his personal shuttle and blasting off to the place he had left…supposedly never again to return.

He had used the wormhole generator in his shuttle to cut down the travel time by half what it would normally take, though he had been undecided about the route he would take. He knew that showing up at the door of the Central Command Chamber and waving would be a good way to get his head blasted off his shoulders. He wanted to keep his head on for as long as he could, so that option was off the table. He had been so lost in thought that the ship had come out of the final wormhole before he had agreed on his first action. Steering away from the main city of Huran, he directed his ship to the towering rock-faces of the Yolan'dra Mountains. Interestingly enough, it seemed that a pathway had been drilled through the rocks for easy access to the Y'lchn and Urg'nad farms on the vast grasslands of the Bnad'ad Plains.

Naively, he had thought that the shadow of the mountain range would provide a natural scrambling field and would shield his presence from the Rangers...both past and present. Unfortunately for him, it seemed that he was extremely wrong. Either that or Muiesaf had zeroed in on his biorhythmic signature the moment he entered the atmosphere. Whatever the cause, he had been debating sending out a robotic avatar of himself that he could control from the cockpit of his ship, when a field of teleportation energy had surrounded said ship. In hindsight, he really should have seen this coming as there wasn't really a limit to the Huran Ranger's system. Actually, in his case, it was doubly ironic as he had been the one to help create the teleportation system in the first place. Admittedly, he hadn't been on the planet since the choice had been made so his memory was a bit fuzzy…still, he should have at least remembered.

"What are you doing here?"

To top off everything, he had been teleported out of his shuttle and slammed into a nearby wall by his former team-mate, who looked like she was torn between killing him and giving him a hug. Knowing how her mind worked, he was sure she could achieve both outcomes at once if she wanted to. Since he was technically on the side of 'evil', logic dictated that he struggle out of the weapons and hold her for ransom. The only things that were stopping him was that he knew the Sisters knew this and that the deep scar on his chest was staring to ache. His battleaxe was in the shuttle but his 'replica' laser dagger/blade was hanging loosely on his hip. He had to time everything just right…

"I'll ask you one more time. What are you doing on Huran, Jabarkas?"

"Searching for my daughter."

The obvious shock and horror on her face was palatable and he leapt into action. His body tensed as he sprang up, readying his arms for a blow to her head with a follow-up slash across her throat for good measure. He was no longer a Ranger and couldn't afford to think like one if he wanted to survive in this obviously hostile environment. However, it seemed that there was yet another contingency plan in effect as twin bolts of purple energy smashed into his side; flinging him across the room like a sack of potatoes. Grumbling in pain, he wished he still had the Chaos Orb of Fire with him as its power would have been well suited to destroy the Rangers. Rising to his feet, he took a step towards Muitime when two more purple energy bolts slammed into his chest. Not wanting to see what the other Rangers could do, he collapsed to his knees and felt a force cage lock into place around him.

"Who told you about her?"

He chuckled at the question and retrieved the communication device from his waist pocket. Thumbing the button on the side, his entire conversation with the mystery voice played out for all to hear. It had almost been an afterthought for him to record the conversation; however, if his fears had been proven and his daughter was indeed dead, he wanted something to confirm that he actually had a daughter and, perhaps, grandchildren. It was information he would never reveal to Xonix until the time was right…which meant it would never be revealed. The faces of the Rangers around him showed their confusion and growing fear as to who could have spilled the beans to the enemy. Carefully breaking down the shield around his telepathic capability, he concentrated on the Rangers in front of him – specifically the one that had shot at him: the male Purple Ranger.

"It wasn't any of us. We would never have spilled the beans on her. Even though we had our differences at the start, she has proven herself to be a trusted member of the team. That's all I can say, please don't attempt to pry any further."

Chuckling under his breath, he released the Purple Ranger from his mental grasp and saw his body visibly relax. It was clear that the boy didn't have the same amount of fortitude as his predecessor. On the other hand, he had seen Murkre engage in battle with a creature that could destroy mental abilities with the flick of a wrist. She had turned out all right, though she was never really the same around him after that. He flicked and eye towards one of the camera hubs and gave a weak smile, still wondering how in the world he would get himself out of this situation. What he needed to do was to ascertain what situation his daughter was in and to get her away from the planet if necessary. He also needed to see exactly what intentions the Orange Ranger had for her, what he was doing on the planet and figure out exactly how his daughter had survived for all this time. It had to have something to do with the life-capsules he had heard about before the ex-prince had arrived.

"Rangers, please leave us. I will summon you if I need assistance or if there is an attack."

They seemed to be clearly uncomfortable with the situation with the Blue Ranger looking as if she had stepped in Y'lchn dung. In fact, the only Ranger that seemed reasonably comfortable with the idea was the Purple Ranger and then even he was nervously fingering the large blaster that was his personal weapon. Jabarkas idly wondered what had happened to Murkre's quad-cannon as he hadn't seen the Purple Ranger wield it in the last fight. On the other hand, he had been out of it for the most part. As the Rangers filed out, he felt the slight distortion in the air around him vanish – meaning that the force-cage had been deactivated. Rolling his shoulders, he looked around at his surroundings, noting the changes that were present since the last time he had been inside Ranger Command. The most prevalent of these changes seemed to be the red tubing that stretched out everywhere – almost like the veins inside a body. He guessed they were veins as Muiesaf was integrated inside the Processing Core, although he highly doubted blood flowed through those tubes.

"Jabarkas, does Xonix know you are here?"

The voice caught him off guard as he looked around for the source. He had no idea what to expect from his rash decision but he was too far to back out now. He turned to one of the camera hubs and shook his head. The Master didn't know anything as he was in one of his Power Comas, a term he had to explain to the sisters. The Orange Ranger knew of the frequent trips in and out of these debilitating sojourns as he had used the first one to complete his Main Power Set. No mention of his Master being in another dimension was made as he didn't want the Sisters using that sort of technology for their Rangers. He knew the information could, technically, be ripped out of his head…but he chose to believe they wouldn't do something as barbaric as that without asking. Finishing his explanation, he looked at Muitime and steeled his features into one of grim determination.

"Now, I have a question. How is it possible that my daughter is alive and well in this time? I would have thought that any offspring I had would have long since died."

Muitime looked at one of the camera hubs that was her sister and sighed, shaking her head. It was hard enough to think of that time carrying the foetus inside her body – let alone birthing it and seeing it immediately transferred into a healing capsule. She could only imagine what her sister had thought of the whole process as they hadn't really spoken about it, save for a few gentle jokes here and there over the centuries. Slowly, she explained everything to her former team-mate from the discovery of the baby to the transference and, finally, the time in the healing tube, her re-emergence into the world, growing up and being chosen to be the Black Ranger. Occasionally her sister would interject to correct some small details that she had lightly censored. To his credit, he took everything rather well although the slow slackening of his facial features was the only indication the information was sinking into his mind at all.

Honestly, all things considered, she didn't have time for this. The battle with Drasil had informed her that Lidars wasn't pulling any punches anymore. The group of Hurans at the front gate still had a long way to go before they even began to breach the door but they were making rapid progress. Even the auto-repair drones were developing slight malfunctions due to the near-constant repairs they had to do. Closer inspection of the Zord of the Orange Ranger had revealed a group of nanomachines that could theoretically repair the doors in the blink of an eye but she wasn't too sure if he was comfortable around them to give them such a boon. Well, if what her sister said was correct, it seemed the only ones he was comfortable around were Xristi and Zriac. Stifling an ironic chuckle, she opened her mouth once more but was silenced by the crackling of the communicator.

"Elder, we have reached the location of the elevator. I am sure that our communications will cease as we descend so I must ask: why did you ask me to attend to this barbarian?"

"Quit your whining. Do you want me to seal your lips shut? No? Then shut it. Sorry Elder, we're at the throne room and about to go into the elevator. I'll find the Cerberus Crystal or see who has it."

Muitime swallowed hard as Jabarkas looked at the speaker with an undecipherable expression on his face. The Orange Ranger was in the Royal Palace, Jabarkas' childhood home, and was about to descend into the depths. He had also mentioned the Cerberus Crystal – something that was supposed to be a myth. There would be a lot of questions coming from her former friend but she had to know something first. Retrieving her staves from where they had fallen in the earlier attack, she combined them into the Battle Staff and pointed it at the evil Huran. Jabarkas blinked once, almost comically, as he turned to the former Blue Ranger. She hated that this needed to be done but it was the only way she could allow her old friend to work alongside her Rangers.

"Jabarkas Allin'Fa, do you swear on the Power that you will not attempt to harm or extort any of the Rangers under my care and guidance for the duration of your stay? This includes the Orange Ranger and your daughter."

He nodded once, all thoughts of spiriting his daughter away vanishing from his mind. It was clear to him that his daughter was happy with the Rangers and was doing a good job as leader. To take her away now would mean that he would be forcing upon her the same situation he had been forced into…and his Master would learn about her. The very thought of that was too horrible to contemplate. Perhaps he would even gain some insight to the Orange Ranger and find out what it was about the human that caused them to lose every time. His old friend seemed to relax at his affirmation, breaking her staff into its component parts and sheathing them on her back. He felt a slight crawling sensation on the inside of his mind as she dug through his thoughts and intentions before she drew back with a satisfied nod.

"Very well, I am satisfied that you will not attempt to harm any of my Rangers, off-world or not. Now, there is something I need you to do for them."

Why was this sounding like a bad idea already?

TBC…


	71. 70: Quake

Chapter Seventy: Quake

"So this is my weapon?"

Shannon looked at the disc critically. Besides the spikes that pointed out from the top and bottom, almost like the hands of a clock, there was nothing that screamed 'deadly weapon'. It was just a glorified shield. On the other hand, she had seen various recordings of how brutal Ranger battles could be, so she was appreciative of the shield but it really didn't give her a lot of options in battle. She knew that Green Ultra Ranger had a shield as her weapon and it could shoot out blasts of 'venomous energy', which was rather versatile for what was supposed to be a defensive object, and she had seen footage of the Pink Zeo Ranger using her shield as a crash barrier of sorts. She supposed she was being a bit hard on the design of the weapon but that was to be expected after the other two Sentinels had summoned their weapons.

Olivia's weapon was a long-barrelled cannon that looked strangely like a dinosaur and a car twisted together. The energy bolts that had blasted out of the front had smashed through the simulated targets that Bree had created for her. Humorously, the long barrel also doubled as a melee weapon as the sides were modelled like the bumper of a car. The leader of the Ranger Sentinels was instructing their teacher about the best ways to swing the cannon as to inflict the most damage on the enemy. Personally, she thought it was rather strange that Bree would know a lot about how melee weapons mixed with cannons would work but, on the other hand, she had apparently been trained by a few of the Zeo Rangers. How in the world she had access to such powerful people, she would more than likely never understand. Her father would kill to get his hands on such people to run a multitude of tests on them, much like the ones he had tried when he had been able to access the Lightspeed Aquabase. It was a good thing Captain Mitchell had been such a good sport about everything; paying the fines incurred until she was 90 was not an appealing prospect for her.

"So you have a shield. That's a great tool for both offence and defence but you need to know how to use it."

Shannon turned at the voice, expecting to find Bree or the Green Ultra Ranger speaking. Instead, she found herself face-to-face with one of her idols from the past. She still looked the same from her old magazines; tall and slim with blonde hair and crystal clear blue eyes. Dressed in a pink T-shirt and faded blue jeans, Kat Hillard stood there like something out of her wildest dreams. The only thing that spoiled the fantasy somewhat was the brown-haired man in a dark blue shirt that was seemingly pressing a few of the buttons for the Simul-Deck at random. She looked at the training Sentinels and saw they weren't really hindered at all by the new and sudden obstacles that had popped up, though Bree was looking rather annoyed at something.

"You…you're Kat Hillard. I followed your training career up until you had your accident. And then you vanished off the face of the planet until you were spotted in Sydney for the Olympics."

Kat stifled a grimace at the mention of her sighting in the Olympics and nodded wearily. While it was absolutely wonderful that she had been able to fulfil her dream of diving into a pool that was used for Olympic events, most of the time had been trying to get the cameras and microphones away from her. That had proved to be something easier said than done as Kim had practically magnetised many of the reporters to her. The Ultra Rangers had been left out of the spotlight for the most part, thanks to their underage status but once the first picture of her had been released into the 'wild'…she shook her head slowly as she recalled the mad scrambles to and from Kim's many events and even a mild abuse of the teleportation system of the Ultra Rangers. One of the reasons she even had the time and privacy alone in the Olympic diving site had been the rather intimidating presence of many of Weihan's Zords guarding the venue. It was rather amusing to read the speculation as to why a giant orange Funnelweb Spider was guarding the Aquatic Centre, not to mention the frantic attempts of the Orange Ranger to try to label it as a potential attack site.

"Yes, that wasn't one of the best moments for me. However, I'm here to talk to you about your weapon and how you can use it."

Shannon's mind clicked over as the star-struck haze began to lift. Kat Hillard, while an idol to her in her youth, was in the Ultra Cavern – a place only Rangers were supposed to be in. No alarms were sounding, nor were any defences being activated to purge the two individuals from learning the secrets of the Rangers. that could only mean one thing, though she couldn't understand how a woman like Kat could have allowed herself to be drawn into the insane world of the Rangers to begin with.

I can see you are well versed in handling a shield like this. Please teach her how to use it wisely.

Kat nodded once at the strange mental voice and summoned her Zeonizers. One limitation of her Zeo Powers was that she couldn't summon her Zeo One Power Shield unmorphed. That limitation was the same for all the Rangers that served under Zordon but she didn't really mind that much as there wasn't really much call for a pink disc in her everyday life. Now, Rocky's arm blades on the other hand…but they were still under Zordon's rules of secrecy. She wasn't exactly sure where the voice had come from, though the aura of power it held informed her that, whatever it was, it was on the side of the Power Rangers. Lifting her arms above her head, she opened her mouth to begin the morphing process when the ground shook under her feet. It was only a mild tremor but was noticeable enough for all Rangers to stop whatever they were doing and look at the Monster Alert station curiously. Everything was working as normal and there didn't seem to be any extraneous errors in the system that would allow for an attack to be missed. Dismissing the tremor as a travelling wave from a farther quake, Kat lifted her arms above her hear once more to begin the morph.

The next tremor was much more violent and finally triggered the Monster Alert station. Running to the radar screen, the leader of the Ranger Sentinels felt all colour drain from her face as she saw the monster. Rocklike armour plates covered its body and its extremely thin arms ended in almost comically-large fists. Volcano-like protrusions sprouted out from behind its shoulders and she could see the reddish glow of highly pressurised magma inside. With a rumble that was felt rather than heard, the monster opened its mouth to spurt a stream of magma at a passing bus. The driver tried to swerve out of the way but the liquefied rock slammed into the middle of the vehicle, instantly setting the inside alight. The Rangers watching in horror as those inside frantically smashed the windows in order to preserve their lives and to escape from the stifling heat. Unfortunately, the exterior shell of the bus had turned red-hot thanks to the magically created lava flow and, much to their growing horror, not many of the passengers inside were able to make it out. Bree swallowed hard and reached for her communicator…before stopping.

She could easily call on the Crystal Rangers for help or even to deal with the monster entirely but that would be copping out. Counting Kat and Rocky, they had five Rangers which would be plenty to take on the monster and win. If they attacked at just the right time, they could easily circumvent the magma-spewing ability of the monster with minimal collateral damage. The only issue with that plan was putting it into practice but, as Weihan had earlier said, she had training from both Adam and Rocky. Given that Rocky had decided to tag along with Kat in order to see the 'new guys', he could be trusted to temporarily take the reins if she was knocked out of the battle.

"Girls…and Rocky, we need to go out there and deal with the monster. We haven't had much training in battle but you can relax and let the Power guide your movements. Think of this as combat experience."

The Rangers around her nodded and separated slightly to begin the morphing sequence. She actually didn't really need to see the morphs of the Zeo Rangers as she had looked through the archival footage, though it was nice to see the Ranger Armour materialise onto their bodies without words. Actually, if she really wanted to get into the technical aspect of the Zeo Ranger Powers, both Kat and Rocky were saying their morphing phrases, although they would be saying them in a pocket dimension. The science of that went way over her head and, even with a slightly waterlogged Billy explaining it from Aquitar, caused her to go cross-eyed for a few hours. Olivia didn't seem too surprised by it either, which was surprising considering she hadn't really seen other morphs other than the Ultra and Crystal Rangers. Shannon, on the other hand, was staring at Kat with a growing expression of surprise and shock on her face. It was almost as if she couldn't wrap her head around the fact that the Australian woman was a Ranger. Whatever the case, it would be something to deal with after the battle. As the Zeo Energy died down, she twisted her left hand counter-clockwise to summon her Morpher.

Contrary to what he had told her earlier, it seemed Weihan did have an idea of what her Morpher would look like as it had 'popped' into existence when she had received the Power. True, it would have arrived even if he hadn't worked out the outer design but it would have looked much different. It was similar to a 'First Generation' Power Morpher but was divided into four sections. Swinging it in front of her body, she noticed the various stances the other Ranger Sentinels had with their Morphers. As Olivia's looked like a Turbo Morpher with a Power Coin, she was in the 'classic' Turbo Morphing stance with her key held in her right hand. Shannon had her left arm stretched up to the ceiling, her Dragon Morpher predominantly displayed on her wrist with Scorpireno's wings stretching from her back in a threatening pose. As the energy enveloped her, she opened her mouth to say the Morphing phrase for the group. There were individual calls but there was no time for all that jazz.

"Sentinel Morph!"

It was time to see what they could do.

TBC…


	72. 71: Stupid Name Choices

Chapter Seventy One: Stupid Name Choices

It was as if the Earth had split in two.

Rivers of cooling lava ran down the roads, choking smoke hung in the air and a stifling heat pressed down on everything. The bus from literally minutes before was now nothing more than a burnt-out metallic shell with charred corpses hanging out the windows. Some of them had even fused to the side of the bus but Bree didn't want to think about that. The three Ranger Sentinels and two Zeo Rangers stood in the middle of the disaster zone in complete and utter shock. Both Kat and Rocky had experienced monster attack sites where there had been a fair amount of monster urban renewal but nothing on this scale. Even the attacks in the Countdown and what they had seen in the mass attack on Sydney years ago practically paled in comparison to the scene around them. Burnt and charred husks lay on the ground, outstretched arms broken off at the elbow; the only things that informed them that they had once been human were the watches, ties and belts that were fused to their bodies. Bree swallowed down the waves of nausea threatening to overwhelm her and brought up her HUD.

Her eyes scanned the information and menu options quickly, not really reading any of the words. There were some surprises, namely the light elemental coating she could give her punches and kicks, but everything else was what she expected for Rangers. There were a few open spaces that had the disconcerting label of 'DIY' in them, though she would seriously need to have a word with Billy or even Weihan to find out if that meant exactly what she thought it did. If it meant she had to think up side-arms for the Sentinels, she would take her best crack at it but for this battle…well; they needed to get creative. Unfortunately, creativity was taking a back seat to the rage that had replaced the nausea. The monster was a few feet away from them, obviously enjoying seeing the Rangers squirm. His shoulder vents angled down to point at the quintet of stunned Rangers; opening up to prepare a blast that would annihilate them.

The energy blast ripped through the air and impacted against the vent on the left shoulder. In an explosion of rock, fire and lava, the vent imploded on itself with the resulting scars cooling over within seconds. The rock monster rumbled in pain and began trudging towards the Rangers. Olivia looked down at the cannon in her hands and aimed at the monster once more. Galvanised by the attack, Rocky and Kat pulled out their Zeo Laser Pistols and began firing at the monster. Laser blasts filled the air as bursts of reddish energy burst from the barrel of the cannon. Bree shook her head as she knew that, as the Leader, she had to come up with a name for her weapon that would be the backbone for the others. However, all she could think up right now were incredibly generic names. Concentrating her powers to her right hand, she formed a thin disc of supercooled liquid and flung it at the monster. The leading edge broke against the face of the creature, encasing its head in a thin layer of frost.

"Fall back! Widen the distance and then we can think of a way to destroy it!"

Pausing in her firing, Kat looked to the purple and red Sentinel. Although young, the girl was shaping up to become a fine Ranger or Sentinel or whatever they called themselves. Retreating behind the burnt shell of the bus, Kat waited for the Sentinel to give her orders as she tried not to look at the human-shaped lumps that were fused into the metal. Bree tightened her fists at her sides as the monster continued its relentless walk towards them. A line of text popped up on her visor and she read it with a growing sense of alarm. It seemed that the monster had managed to cut off the area around them from the others. There wasn't any barrier of any kind; just a massive throng of Golems and Fiends…which explained why the monster was all alone. The Crystal Rangers were fighting the grunts but until all of them were destroyed, they were on their own.

Peeking through one of the shattered windows, Bree looked at the rather measly amount of damage they had done to the monster. The shoulder vent on the left side of the creature was destroyed and it seemed her disc of cold had done some damage to its brain – if it even had a brain. That was fine and all but its main weapon, as it had caused the most devastation, was still intact. If they could just blow away its mouth or head, they could pound the creature with whatever they wanted until it exploded. She hoped that the creature didn't grow before they could fully destroy it as she doubted the strongest Zords could make a dent in it. Closing her eyes, she forced her mind to relax and allowed the Power to flow through her, bringing to her mind the ideas and suggestions of the Dualsaurs. She could see her weapon in her mind's eye: a strange sword-and-shield combination that seemed to be able to separate into two weapons. What the blade would look like wasn't really shown to her, though it did seem rather odd that she would be given a shield in her weapons; given that Shannon's weapon was a shield. On the other hand, she knew now to trust in the Power and the surprises it threw her way.

"We need a way to disable or destroy its head area. That's the only way it can be brought down. From what I saw earlier, Olivia, your cannon blasts seemed to have the most effect. I want you to continually fire blasts at it whenever you can and avoid whatever is blasted your way. Can you do that?"

Olivia nodded once, fingering the trigger button on her cannon. Her aim was still a tad shaky, even with the additional targets Rocky had created for her, but she knew the only way to bring down the monster was to trust in the Power and the guidance it brought.

"Shannon and Kat, I need the both of you to use your shields to protect Rocky. He will be in charge of immobilizing the monster any way he can."

Rocky nodded and exhaled slowly. He knew he could tap into his Ninjetti Sprit, like all the previous Ninjetti before him, yet he wanted to keep that part out of the battle if he could help it. To reveal that card this early in the battle would be, well, an utter failure tactically speaking. With two shield/disc users protecting him, he could think of a few strategies that he could use that would minimise the risk of Kat and the other Ranger getting hurt. Shannon nodded slowly, still wondering exactly how and why her idol was a Power Ranger. From the way she moved in the uniform, it was obvious that she had been a Ranger for quite a long time and held a close familiarity with how they worked. However, she had to push her awestruck-ness aside for the time being and co-operate with the two veteran Rangers.

"Wait, what are you going to do?"

Bree chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. She had no idea what would happen once the monster was disabled enough for a killing blow to be struck and, on the chance that her attack wasn't enough, she would have to think up more than one contingency plan. Counting on the Crystal Rangers and the other Ultra Rangers for help was out of the question as they already had their hands full with the unending stream of Golems and Fiends. Yet, there had to be a way to destroy the monster if things went pear-shaped. Mind racing, she thought back to all the weapons the Power Rangers had used over the years to destroy monsters. Usually, many of them involved combining their weapons into a blaster of some kind. Maybe it was a fool's hope to think they could combine their weapons right off the bat but she had to agree that it was better than nothing. On the other hand, that brought about the rather prickly problem of how she was going to perform her attack…

"I'll keep the creature off your backs and see if there are any survivors. When it's disabled, I'll strike it with a killing blow. If that doesn't destroy it…I've got another idea but I don't want to say what it is just yet."

The nods around her made the ball of ice in her gut melt somewhat. The others were counting on her to destroy the monster but, at the same time, she was counting on them for it to be immobilised. The monster grumbled on the other side and the temperature gauge on the side of her helmet suddenly spiked. Not wanting to know if their Ranger suits could survive a dip in searing lava, she flipped away from the metal husk – noting that the others did the same. Mere milliseconds later, the cover that had once been a bus full of innocent civilians melted into an unrecognisable puddle of metal, rubber and other assorted things. On the ball, Olivia fired several shots at the creature as she scrambled to find better cover. However, the problem with fighting in the area they were in was the gross lack of said cover. Even though the area had practically been cleared of people, the area around King's Cross wasn't really an area where cover could be found. She doubted Olivia would want to duck into the doorway of a strip club just for the cover anyway. Out of the five shots that were fired, three hit the monster head-on, small explosions of rock, dust and lava billowing out of the wounds. Wherever that lava struck instantly melted and cooled slowly in the evening breeze, leaving Bree to wonder when, or if, they would be filled in by the Council.

Scooting behind an overturned car, she looked around for where Rocky had run off to. In the waning light, she could see the Blue Zeo Ranger creeping behind the monster with his triangular hatchets, or maybe they were blades, at the ready. Kat and Shannon were doing rather admirably as well, deflecting any lava blasts that came their way. She had absolutely no idea how the superheated rock wasn't doing any damage to the shields but there were some things that she didn't really need to know at that very moment. There were other things on her mind anyway…such as the 'all important' task of what she was going to name that strange weapon combination. She rolled her eyes at the thought of mostly all of her time and effort going into something that, really in the grand scheme of things, was quite insignificant.

A rumble of pain from the creature made her venture another look; just in time to see the vent on the right shoulder vanish in a burst of stones and fire. Reeling in apparent pain and confusion, the creature reared back and attempted to squeeze whatever magma could flow through the hairline crack that was rapidly crusting over. With a tremendous booming sound that made the remaining windows around them rattle dangerously, the entire right arm of the monster exploded off the shoulder and smashed onto the pavement below. The creature bent down and attempted to pick up the massive limb with its other arm but was hindered by the blasts striking it from all sides. With an annoyed growl, a thick stream of lava was ejected from its mouth, splashing the area around it within several metres. Bree flung a few supercooled discs at the glowing scar and moved from her position to deliver a flying kick to its head. As she reached the apex of her jump, she could see two glowing energy crescents slam into the back of the monster's legs, sending it toppling down to the ground.

"Sentinel Blade!"

In a glow of purple and red light, the weapon combination appeared in her left hand. As she had seen, the sword was sheathed inside the shield; the red handle sticking out of the top of the shield. Adjusting her trajectory, she grasped the hands of the sword and pulled it out of its holster. Unlike the long and broad swords of many of the other Ranger leaders, the one she had looked like a unique straight-edged arming sword or even a cutlass. The hilt of the blade reminded Bree of the Dragonbreath Blades she had seen on the Hellfire Armours of the Ultra Rangers. Of course, the only difference she could see was that the blade extended from the closed mouth of its 'head'. The colouration of said blade was also different; a departure from the lustrous silver sheen to a black and grey pattern that looked…old.

She didn't know what the front of the shield looked like – nor did she care. The only thing that was on her mind was delivering the final blow. Concentrating her energies to the edge of the blade, she lifted it over her head to bring it down onto the head of the beast with a resounding crash that shattered whatever windows were still intact. A cloud of fog and solidified water vapour enveloped the monster as Bree landed behind it. She turned slowly and hoped that had done the trick. Her mind finally caught up with the words she had called and she sighed, shaking her head in mock disgust.

Sentinel Blade, indeed…

TBC…


End file.
